Category Archives: Jingzhou

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Two of our teacher friends were married recently, and make a great-looking couple! We have enjoyed weekly Discussions with them for nearly two semesters now. We also saw Xiao Guan, our Foreign Affairs Office rep, on campus today. Her husband is on one-month leave finally for their honeymoon…they were all-smiles.

We have also welcomed another teacher to our Assembly. She traveled to Iowa Wesleyan College for graduate work last semester, got Important Information, and is excited to find a regular study group to continue her growth. She has great English and plenty of interest…admitted it took her 12 years to finally believe The One.

I thought of one comment from our classroom discussion on dementia and “growing old together.” One of the young men, named Youngman, said, “Gary, I did not enjoy the movie that much. I am too young to be thinking about getting old.” 🙂

A few more observations from the students when talking about lessons from The Notebook:

• The most beautiful words are not ‘I love you’ but “I will be there.”
• It is difficult for the students to listen to their classmates making their 3-4 minutes speeches, since there are 45-53 of them. What about me? Seven classes x 48!  I enjoy watching them ‘mouth’ new words of phrases they hear during those sessions. They are really serious about learning new English words.

There is a persistent rumor about our students being moved to the West campus next semester. It would mean a big change for us, since we live 7 miles away on the East campus…would really affect our weekend discussions if we are not on the same campus. Put this matter into your daily thoughts.

I have begun meeting with 21-year old freshman student seeking to ‘get darkness out of his thinking.’ He comes from a domestic anger situation…low self-esteem…but we’re making good progress.

Terry and I attended a Hostess Competition for a few of our students. It included a talent portion as well as a speaking section. They were dressed up extra special, and all did well (see photos right).

We also attended some intramural basketball games of our students. A women’s team won 48-18, with three of TJ’s class involved…the men’s team lost two close games but played very well and had some chances to win at the end of each game. They appreciate very much that their “teachers come out to watch us.” 🙂

Eric and his family have their assignment to teach in late August…at Yunyang Teachers College in Shiyan, Hubei. Shiyan is one of the most important centers of automobile industry in China, with Dongfeng, the premier Chinese truck, bus and heavy goods vehicle as a major employer. It is also labeled as the Detroit of China given this focus on auto manufacturing.

Before 1949 it was a small village, which grew after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In 1967 teams of workers and engineers were first sent to Shiyan in order to survey sites for automotive plants and factories. At this time the population of Shiyan was only a few hundred. Chairman Mao chose Shiyan as the site for China’s automobile industry because the surrounding mountains and relative inaccessibility could act as a barrier against foreign attacks.

Yunyang Teachers College is located in Danjiangkou City, northwest of Hubei Province, an hour’s bus ride from the Wudang Mountains, a well-known tourist spot of Taoism and China Gongfu, five hours’ ride from Shennongjia, the most mysterious place in the world.

YYTC is a teachers training college under the auspices of Hubei Education Commission. It have a staff of more than 600 people and enrollment of more than 7,500 students. The schooling system consists mainly of 3-year full-time teaching courses and some courses of degree study. There are 27 specialist fields in the 11 departments. The English department has more than 1,700 students , aging from 18 to 22 years old, studying in four grades, with 40-45 in each class.

YYTC is one of the garden schools of Hubei Province, with a pleasant and modern campus and easy access the beautiful countryside and rich local culture. Amongst many other attractions there is also the mini-pacific reservoir and the Hanjiang River with many wonderful locations for swimming.

Presently there are foreign teachers who come from Britain, Ireland, the United States and New Zealand. There is a smooth communication and interaction between the Chinese students and the foreign teachers, which helps to create a lovely multicultural environment on the campus.

The Wudang Mountain range run approximately east-west through the territory of the “Prefecture-level city” of Shiyan, crossing several of its county-level divisions. The peak commonly referred to as “Wudang Mountain”, or in Mandarin Wudangshan, is one of the most important cultural centres of the Taoist faith. The surrounding areas are dotted with up to 200 Taoist monastic temples and religious sites. The main attraction in this area, and also one of the most sacred Taoist sites, which forms an important stop for mainly Chinese tourists bound there, with up to twenty bus loads of visitors per day at peak times is Wudangshan Jiedao of the Danjiangkou county-level city.

One of our teachers said “Shiyan is the four largest city of Hubei, famous for its car industry…a very beautiful city and a very livable city.”

China News: — Over five days in January, a group of visitors to New York was treated to a private concert with the pianist Lang Lang at the Montblanc store, cocktails and a fashion show attended by the designers Oscar de la Renta and Diane Von Furstenberg, and a tour of Estee Lauder’s original office.

They were not celebrities. They were not government officials. They were Chinese tourists with a lot of money.

Though luxury brands started opening stores in Beijing and Shanghai years ago, Chinese shoppers still spend more on luxury products abroad than they do at home, according to the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Because of China’s taxes, luxury products are about a third cheaper elsewhere.

European luxury stores have been catering to Chinese tourists for years. Now high-end retailers in the United States are pulling out their Mandarin phrase books and trying to convince Chinese visitors that Americans can do luxury, too.

“What started as a trickle has now become a flow,” said Ben Macklowe, the vice president of the antiques store Macklowe Gallery. “There’s been prosperity across so much of Asia that you’re starting to see it much more in the profile of the tourist on Madison Avenue.”

A record number of Chinese visited the United States last year – nearly 1.1 million, according to the Commerce Department. The number of visitors is expected to almost double by 2014, according to the US Travel Association. Chinese visitors spend about $6,000 each on every visit here, versus the $4,000 that visitors from other countries spend on average, the association says.

Beijing plans to allocate 2.84 billion yuan ($450 million) this year to further improve the capital’s notorious traffic, China News reported on Friday.

The fund will be used mainly to open up dead-end roads, widen road bottlenecks, and rebuild roads that cause congestion. Roads near schools and old residential communities are top of the list of priorities for improvement, said an official of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. Beijing has already introduced a series of measures to tackle the jams, including a monthly quota for license plates. But since the number of cars registered in Beijing passed the 5 million mark in February 2012, vehicles are usually slowed to a crawl on major road networks.

Top Chinese wind turbine manufacturer power behind more jobs, projects in America. The company motto of one of the top Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co, is “globalization through localization”.

The marketing phrase is a summation of how CEO and Chairman Wu Gang views the company’s global strategy, particularly in the United States where Chicago-based Goldwind USA has been extremely active of late.

Since its first project in 2010 in Pipestone, Minnesota, Goldwind has signed 18 deals in the US in less than two years, including one last month in Montana that received strong government support.

Its second project was a 109-megawatt tower called Shady Oaks in Illinois last year that will have a positive economic effect on North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and New Hampshire.

Tim Rosenzweig, CEO of Goldwind USA, says the company’s goal is to “build our platform in the Americas, to continue gaining acceptance in building our brand with customers and to have a chance to prove how a Chinese/US combination can work together. We want to be a case study of how China and the US could and should work together.”

Goldwind plans to install 12 turbines in two separate 10-megawatt towers in Montana next year.

CHONGQING – Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality will soon open an international air cargo route that will link the metropolis with the United States and Australia. The weekly route will link Sydney, Chongqing, Shanghai, Chicago and New York, sources with Chongqing’s port and channel management bureau said Monday.

It is the 14th international regular cargo airline opened by the Chongqing Airport, and the first freight route in China’s central and western regions, to be linked with Australia, the sources said.

Chongqing is building itself into a major center for laptop assembly, with this year’s output expected to hit 50 million units. The opening of the new airline will facilitate the delivery of IT products from Chongqing to the North American and Australian markets, the sources said.

The international air freight volume at Chongqing Airport is likely to exceed 100,000 tonnes this year, according to the sources.

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Our students have finally taken their TEM4 exam, which is for sophomore English majors. It has four parts, takes just under three hours, and will not be offered again for one year IF they do not make at least 60 on it. It is a big deal here and they have worked many, many hours.

One Discussion Group has been affected by this crucial test, so we hope some of the students can have more time on the weekends now. They have elective classes on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to regular Monday-Friday classes, so it is often difficult to schedule time with those interested in Important Things. We make the best use of the time given to us.

We so much admire the work ethic, positive attitudes, and willingness to listen and work of both the teachers and students. I was talking with Dean Catherine two weeks ago about the rumor of “our students” moving to the West campus and how we wanted to be where “our students” live. She looked at me, with a big smile, and said, “you and Terry really like your students don’t you? I noticed you said our students.” My reply: “we do like them a lot.” We’ve had numerous discussions lately with other teachers who talk about the time we give in our apartment to the different groups, and the times we treat them to lunch.

Grandsons Brinson and Aiden have begun packing their special things for moving, since their house is to be rented soon, and that means getting their many pounds of Lego’s down to “only 50” for the long trip in late August. They are both big-time Kindle book readers and both have other enjoyable hobbies, so they will do just fine…and, of course, they will be home-schooled here.

Our three children and families spent several weeks in Panama City (see photo right and Brinson ‘catching the sun’ left) , our annual time of the year when we have tried to all spend some time together. Of course, we missed that special occasion, and really missed being there. Skype saved the day, again; we were able to connect for a few minutes.

We’ve introduced Jell-O to the teachers in our weekly Thursday study and they really like it…especially the pudding version…sugar-free, of course. Terry made hot apple pie a few weeks back, which was also very successful…we all especially liked the crust. She puts cinnamon on many things, like her parents, so they have been introduced to a fruit salad with cinnamon, as well. We enjoy our time together so much, and their interest is growing.

Terry has put up new ‘curtains’ in the kitchen… wrapping paper that has “I Love You” printed on it. It allows her to have privacy at night but see the children playing and the sunshine during the day, when she opens them up.

I spent the morning with the Bee Gees on my music player…with Robin Gibbs in a coma and two already gone, I had this group on my mind…have listened to them most of my adult life. Just returned from monthly trip to RT Mart, this time without TJ, since she decided to eat lunch with some students in the West campus canteen. Went to five different stores, found no one who spoke English, and found everything I needed, and even bartered at two places to get a slightly lower price. I could have saved more IF a student had been with me. Ate lunch at McDonald’s (two cheeseburgers, fries and a Coke Zero with ice, which isn’t served in any of the non-American restaurants) and enjoyed every single crumb. 🙂

Keven came by and worked with Terry baking Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies, which he’d purchased on a recent trip to Wuhan. It has become one of those ‘regular appointments’ after a trip to the ‘big city.’

Have watched with interest the Peyton Manning news and his move to the Denver Broncos. I guess many of us will be watching NFL games/news from the West Coast more this fall. Also not surprising that Pat Summitt needed to step aside and Holly Warlick is named the Lady Vols’ coach. I covered track meets during Holly’s senior year at Knox Bearden…she was a state champion in all sprint events and quite an athlete…All-American at UT speaks for itself…and her number was retired when she quit playing at both schools.

When Baylor won the NCAA tournament game against Tennessee and Kim Mulkey knew she had likely ended Summitt’s career, this one-of-a-kind, too-big-to-have-dreamed-come-true career, she could only be humbled. “What do you say after the game?” Mulkey said that night. “You say, ‘I love you.’ ”

Her impact reaches beyond wins and losses. Every Lady Vols player who has completed her eligibility at Tennessee has graduated, and 74 former players, assistants, graduate assistants, team managers and directors of basketball operations are currently among the coaching ranks at every level of basketball.

Tennessee sports fans are fortunate to have such ‘heroes’ as Pat and Peyton!

We incorporated some ideas from an edited version of the movie The Notebook in our discussion of the value of human life and euthanasia, which is unit 7 in our workbook. I want to share some of their ideas, as it relates in “true love” and “loving your spouse until death do you part:”

• The movie portrayed the girl, Allie, as “too imtimate, and most of my classmates agreed…we would have enjoyed it more if she were not depicted that way.” Of course, I agreed wholeheartedly, and had told them before the movie that I wish I could have taken out the 7-8 ‘bad words.’
• “If we want others to love us, we must first love others; if we want others to believe us, we must first believe them.”
• “Devotion to a spouse is more important than achievements and money.”
• “In a relationship, you must accept all about a person, and not just those things easy to like.”
• A popular Chinese saying was repeated often…”holding your hand and aging with you.”
• Several related the love of Noah and Allie in” the movie, in their old age and dealing with dementia, to “the love of Gary and Terry and the envy some feel” as they want to find someone like that in their life.
• “Gold cannot be pure, and men cannot be perfect.”
• “Home is where the family is…”
• One student said she was glad to know that love ‘till death do us part” is still possible, and related her concern derived from watching Desperate Housewives and assuming that was more the model today. I assured her that some do live that way, but many also are married for life. 🙂
• They use the word “lover” here to describe even a wholesome relationship between a boy and a girl, with no sexual intimacy being discussed…that is just the word they use most often.

In our Friday Discussion group, we had some extended question/answer time this week since some were away for last-minute TEM4 exam preparation. One thing: the electricity on weekends in the dorm is later than 11 pm since they do not have classes the next day…sometimes it is on even as late as 11:40 pm on school nights. We had been told for over a year that it was always off at 11 pm. We also learned that it is left on all night during the hot summer time when classes are held, so the students can use fans, though they do not keep it cool at all! Those in our discussion that night also have heat and AC in their family homes.

I cannot remember if I have mentioned the abundant use of weed-eaters on this campus. While most of the campus is hard surface, there is some grass and several large areas of nice garden-type landscaping. But the weed-eaters…well, they use it for any grass, and that includes the ‘playground,’ which is a football-size grassy area inside an old cinder track, that looks like the one I ran on in 1964-65 in early high school track days.

The playground is now over a foot tall, due to warmer weather and rain, and several men will start early in the day and work for 2-3 days to ‘cut the grass’ with their weed-eaters. Have not seen a lawnmower anywhere in town.

It was April 20 before we were able to wear only one layer for warmth, for me, a short-sleeved shirt.  Very nice and about time….:-)

We had some books brought to us from Ed Mosby on a recent trip to China. Two of our Friday night Discussion students are avid readers. We gave Sapphire the 3-in-1 paperback of Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box, Timepiece, and the Letter). He is one of my favorite authors and I highly recommend him to you. Terry gave Arrow The Blue Window  by Temple Bailey, a book she has enjoyed for many years.

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Greetings from Terry: My large kitchen knife has needed sharpening ever since I used it to peel a very unique hard Chinese fruit. There is a man who rides through our neighborhood periodically who calls out something in Chinese. I thought he might do sharpening work so we asked our teacher friends about it.

They told us the Chinese phrase he would be calling out so we could recognize the rhythm and tone if not the exact words. Then Friday afternoon Gary called to me from the other room saying he thought he heard the man passing by. I grabbed my knife and hurried down the stairs.

I caught up with him, showed him my knife with a questioning look on my face. He understood, stopped and set up shop by taking his small saw horse and tools off of his bicycle and going to work. He knew exactly what he was doing and did it very well; polishing it up when he had it razor sharp.

It was well worth the 5 yuan and so convenient. Daddy and my brother Ward would really enjoy seeing all of the different ways these skilled entrepreneur craftsmen figure out tools, transportation and procedures on a low budget and limited space. Very interesting. – Love, Terry

Gary: Between us, we have eight classes and over 405 students that have studied the following topics from the workbook: Euthanasia, Is a Beauty Contest Harmful? and Has Feminism Gone Too Far? during the past three weeks. Each has offered extended time to discuss the value of human life and the development of “inner beauty” and character. I can say that these young adults “get it.” They were willing participants in the dialogue and know the difference between that which is superficial and that which is deeper and more sincere. It has been a very good time.

We have found that often the material is written to acquaint them with the vocabulary in different real-life circumstances they will encounter. I remind them that “I did not write this material, it comes from the China Education Ministry/Government” and we speak very boldly about the subjects from  All Sources.

In some other discussions, I learned the mandatory retirement age in China is 60 for men and 55 for women, except for women in factory jobs (50 years old). Three students mentioned specifically that “Gary and Terry are interested in working and are energetic, and should be allowed to work forever.”

TJ got a phone call and two more freshmen students want to discuss Important Things. That brings to four the total in the past two weeks alone; two weekly groups continue and one Assembly.

Three of our Assembly Group have pregnancies in their family, two actual Sisters and one a relative of the other. We enjoy watching their development and joy in the process and anticipate and pray for safe deliveries and healthy children…keep them in your thoughts during these coming months…all due in early May-June, I think.

One of our best Life Lesson students has recently traveled to Wuhan and won second in a major contest and also passed an important exam. We are so pleased with her progress in Important Things, too. She is a joy to have around and full of energy and interest…becoming a very good friend. She is a second-semester junior, so we know we do not have much more time with her, since their schedules become very full once they enter their senior years. They are often only here part of the year, with intern work experience a major part of their educational training.

One of the students was in the hospital the first four weeks of the semester and has now returned and a part of our weekly study. She worked hard to ‘catch up’ in her classes…amazing to all of them that they are now just weeks away from being juniors in the university system.

Our bee-keeper Brother, Jordan, was in the area for a visit, and we had him over for lunch. He is concerned that his country has its focus so much on money, with a “short view instead of long view.” He is trying to decide where/when concerning business decisions so put him in your thoughts…he will be a big asset wherever he settles.

I enjoyed celebrating the NCAA Tourney winners..remember TJ was born in Waco and she has family living there, and I was born in Louisville, Kentucky and am a big SEC fan during the playoffs/tournaments…only a Vol fan during the regular season, though. I picked three of the four men’s Final Four teams and all four of the women’s squads…and correctly predicted both winners.

Though born in Kentucky, we only lived there a few months after that event (had to stay in the hospital five weeks so I could weigh 4.4 pounds and go home) and moved to Chattanooga…so I consider myself that my hometown. I used to tease people that when I was playing basketball, if I made a few shots, I’d tell the teammates of my birthplace…if I did not make any shots I’d keep my mouth shut, not wanting to embarrass the state that thinks only of basketball. 🙂

Our son has found family willing to rent their Texas home, so they have one more think off their “get ready to move to China in August” list. Wendy has also finished an eight-week Chinese language class.

It was good to see Ron and Ed here in Jingzhou recently. They were here with some students, in one case, and meeting with school officials to make plans for next fall, in the other. Always please when they travel safely and make progress in the  Good Work here.

As you read the following China Daily newspaper article, keep us in your thought…we have an important teaching task ahead!

China News: Premarital sex is more common, survey finds — A new survey indicates that Chinese society is growing more permissive about premarital sex.  In the survey in March, 71.4 percent of respondents said they had sex before getting married, 43.1 percent said they approve of premarital sex, and only 24.6 percent voiced disapproval.

The findings stand in stark contrast with a 1989 survey in which only 15 percent of respondents said they had premarital sex.

There were 1,013 respondents, 56 percent of them men and 44 percent women, from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

Almost 70 percent of respondents were from 20 to 39 years old. Sixty-four percent have received a college education. Their careers varied from professional manager, private company owner to civil servant and student.

In addition to the 71.4 percent who said they had sex before marriage, 43.1 percent said they approved of premarital sex. Only 24.6 percent voiced disapproval. Also, 33.7 percent said that “sex is a basic need and has nothing to do with morality,” and 27.7 percent believed “two people can have sex with each other as long as they are truly in love, even before marriage.”  The survey was simultaneously     conducted on Sina, a leading micro blog site. There, 19,578 netizens took participated, 79.4 percent of whom identified themselves as male. In the online survey, 86.5 percent of respondents said they had premarital sex, 15.1 percentage points higher than in the print survey.

Li Yinhe, a sexologist who conducted the 1989 survey about premarital sex in China, said an increase in premarital sex was inevitable.

“First, the purpose of sex has changed. Giving birth is no longer the sole valid reason. Second, there is a strong desire for sex from adolescence, before people reach marriageable age, and adolescence tends to begin earlier nowadays,” Li said. “Also, when the crime of ‘hooliganism’ was removed from the Criminal Law in 1997, sex out of wedlock went from being a crime to just a personal choice.

“Sexual desire doesn’t have anything to do with morality, but sexual behavior does,” Li said. “A married person who has sex outside the marriage without the spouse’s approval violates the vow of loyalty.”

However, Du Juan, a researcher at the Institute of Sexuality and Gender at Renmin University of China, doubted that the new survey’s data on premarital sex represented the situation in Chinese society as a whole. “We shouldn’t believe everything that statistics tells us.”

But researchers at the institute have concluded from their own national surveys that “the sexual revolution in China has succeeded,” she said.

On the other hand, abstinence is also a personal choice, Du said. “People need to follow their own will in choosing for or against abstinence. You don’t choose abstinence or sex because it’s fashionable.”

Speaking on whether a more open-minded view of sex would affect the stability of relationships, Du said: “The development of a modern society has weakened many functions that were thought to be served only by marriages. Sex is absolutely not the only thing to blame when couples and families split up.”

The recent survey was created by Insight China, a magazine affiliated with Qiushi, the Party theory magazine, and conducted by Tsinghua Media Survey Lab at Tsinghua University.

There were 1,013 respondents, 56 percent of them men and 44 percent women, from 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

Almost 70 percent of respondents were from 20 to 39 years old. Sixty-four percent have received a college education. Their careers varied from professional manager, private company owner to civil servant and student.

In addition to the 71.4 percent who said they had sex before marriage, 43.1 percent said they approved of premarital sex. Only 24.6 percent voiced disapproval.

Also, 33.7 percent said that “sex is a basic need and has nothing to do with morality,” and 27.7 percent believed “two people can have sex with each other as long as they are truly in love, even before marriage.”

The survey pointed to a disparity between the thinking of men and women, with 33.5 percent of the female respondents disapproving of premarital sex, compared with only 17.8 percent of males.

The survey was simultaneously conducted on Sina, a leading micro blog site. There, 19,578 netizens took participated, 79.4 percent of whom identified themselves as male.

In the online survey, 86.5 percent of respondents said they had premarital sex, 15.1 percentage points higher than in the print survey.

Li Yinhe, a sexologist who conducted the 1989 survey about premarital sex in China, said an increase in premarital sex was inevitable.

“First, the purpose of sex has changed. Giving birth is no longer the sole valid reason. Second, there is a strong desire for sex from adolescence, before people reach marriageable age, and adolescence tends to begin earlier nowadays,” Li said. “Also, when the crime of ‘hooliganism’ was removed from the Criminal Law in 1997, sex out of wedlock went from being a crime to just a personal choice.

However, Du Juan, a researcher at the Institute of Sexuality and Gender at Renmin University of China, doubted that the new survey’s data on premarital sex represented the situation in Chinese society as a whole. “We shouldn’t believe everything that statistics tells us.”

But researchers at the institute have concluded from their own national surveys that “the sexual revolution in China has succeeded,” she said.

Speaking on whether a more open-minded view of sex would affect the stability of relationships, Du said: “The development of a modern society has weakened many functions that were thought to be served only by marriages. Sex is absolutely not the only thing to blame when couples and families split up.”

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Greetings from Terry: Rejoice, rejoice! We have a new younger Sister in our Family. She is the one that has been going to the discussions in Chinese that are located closer to her campus.

We bought some extra large hangers to air our bedding out on the balcony like the rest of the neighborhood.  Now we are ready when the warm weather arrives.

As I was going to the back gate market last week it dawned on me how nice it was to walk along and not be bothered by sights, sounds and smells. I guess I have become accustomed to everything. It doesn’t take as much concentration as it did at first.

I have finished reading Bumps Are What You Climb On by Warren Wiersbe and the book Gladys Alward: The Adventure of a Lifetime by Geoff Benge.

This week the lessons in my text books aren’t that interesting.  It’s just doing what we have to do. I guess that is why they call it work. The students are getting tired also. He will give me some good ideas and I will continue “struggling with all Hi energy, which so powerfully works in me”. I love Him.

My previous lessons have been about Heroes. I named several of my heroes that were unselfish and willing to leave their comfort zone. Another lesson was on Love and Romance. We talked about American Culture’s most famous definition of true love in 1 Cor.13 and examples of how it is action not just feeling. Now it is the week to teach American Culture of the Easter Holiday and I will talk about my favorite hero who acted on His true love for all mankind in being unselfish and willing to leave his comfort zone and die for us. Hope you all enjoy your family gatherings.

And now we have found out we have a new younger brother! He was brought to the discussions recently by one of the other new brothers. It brings such joy.

I received this text from the female student that came to talk when she was feeling down and had a lot of doubts and questions of life. “Dear Terry: I can’t find any words to gratitude you. How appreciate I am! I’ve found myself and my dream again, and I know clearly what I should do now. But I still want to express my thanks to you, on behalf of my inside, for what you’ve done for me. I pray to Jesus Christ by my heart, for your everything! Please take care of yourself well. The Best Wishes for you!“

My female students have discovered cross stitching and enjoy it during their free time. One of them made me a pouch for my cell phone decorated with a cross stitched picture. She did a really good job.

TTFN (Ta Ta For Now) I like Tigger’s enthusiasm – Love, Terry

Gary: We recently completed one of the more miserable days in China since arriving…cold winds and heavy rain most of the day… though 70 degree highs are just around the corner. We had moved our kitchen table back into the main part of the apartment, thinking we could get back to normal, but found that ‘the new normal’ is best for now. Seven days later we put the heater up and had the warmest day of the year.

And I still do not understand why 68 degrees feels so cold when it’s 45 outside and feels just right when it’s 73 outside. Someone send me an email and explain that to me!

We ate at a McDonald’s for the first time… tasted just like those in the USA. I used to drive as a teenager across town in Chattanooga to get McDonald’s French fries…never thought I’d take a bus for some in China one day 🙂 Nice to get the American taste again; helps us not to miss it so much, though I like many other hamburgers and rarely eat at McDonald’s in America..

Our apartment became ‘officially’ home upon our return…I brought from our storage my weather gauges, which have been part of my life since my Dad’s habit of the same. A product of the Navy and a sailboat owner, Dad always seemed to have one in our house and I have, too. It seems to be one degree low  in reporting the temperature and I never understood the barometric pressure aspect of it…but it felt good to put it up on the wall the week after we arrived back in China. I noticed Coast Guard-son Gregory also has one in his house 🙂

We have been hearing the cuckoo birds in our neighborhood…it must be spring.

Because our school is going through an accreditation process, we were told this morning that we need to begin turning in monthly lesson plans, through the end of the semester…needless paperwork has been discovered in China. We have been required to turn in a curriculum plan prior to each semester, but this is new.

I began watching the Ken Burns’ Baseball series this weekend, with the season now about to begin and my fantasy league team fully assembled. I did not have time to watch it last year, since everything was so new to us here and we had other important things that had to take precedent….just catching our breath and working to get through the first few weeks.

For the first time since Eric began the THE Pilgrim League (2001), I was bad enough the year before and the rules changed  for me to finally get the first team pick and THE New York Yankees as my American League team (we choose a team from each league and have six free agents). Since I had the first pick this year, I  also had the last pick (16th) and got the Giants as my National League team, so am pleased to have a solid group…which means I won’t get the Yankees next year because I expect to do much better and will not choose first again….oh, well.

And this could be the year for the Cubs to win it all! I said in December, 2010, when we decided to come to China, “I’ll probably be in China and miss the Cubs winning the World Series” and then realized that IF it would help them to finally break the curse and get there again, I’d gladly do it. Well, now Eric is planning to be in China so it would really be something IF we were both out of the country and that gigantic achievement transpires!!

It has become clear again that just because we do Important Things in another country, what we enjoyed as hobbies and recreation in the USA continues. I have no idea how to repair a lawn mower, or fix a car engine, but I do have a love of sports that began in my early teens. It has sustained me in difficult  times and provided an income for over 14 years of my life when I was a sportswriter either full-time or part-time (began as a senior in high school; had a partial scholarship for four years as sports editor of our college newspaper, which literally put food on my table since I never thought of getting a meal ticket to the cafeteria).

I was in the 99th percentile in the Women’s NCAA tourney going into the finals and was just 4 points from finishing first in the nation with my point total. In our men’s bracket, I picked the eventual champion and three of the Final Four, including both finalists…and did not witness a single game since returning here on February 8.

China News — Qingming Festival (also known as Pure Brightness Festival or Tomb-sweeping Day), which falls on either April 4th or 5th of the gregorian calendar, is one of the Chinese Twenty-four Solar Terms. From that date temperatures begin to rise and rainfall increases, indicating that it is the crucial time for plowing and sowing in the spring. Qingming Festival therefore has a close relationship with agriculture. However, it is not only a seasonal symbol; it is also a festival of paying respect to the dead, a spring outing, and other activities.

It is said that the Qingming Festival was originally held to commemorate a loyal man living in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 – 476 BC), named Jie Zitui. Jie cut a piece of meat from his own leg in order to save his hungry lord who was forced to go into exile when the crown was in jeopardy. The lord came back to his position nineteen years later, and forgot Jie Zitui but later felt ashamed and decided to reward him. However, Jie had blocked himself up in a mountain with his mother.

In order to find Jie, the lord ordered that the mountain should be set on fire. Later Jie was found dead with his mother. In order to commemorate Jie, the lord ordered that the day Jie died was Hanshi (Cold Food) Festival – the day that only cold food could be eaten.

The second year, when the lord went to the mountain to sacrifice to Jie, he found willows revived, so he gave instructions that the day after Hanshi Festival was to be Qingming Festival. Later, the two festivals were combined as one – Qingming Festival.

All in all, the Qingming Festival is an occasion of unique characteristics, integrating sorrowful tears to the dead with the continuous laughter from the spring outing.

Qingming Festival is a time of many different activities, among which the main ones are tomb sweeping, taking a spring outing, and flying kites. Some other lost customs like wearing willow branches on the head and riding on swings have added infinite joy in past days. The festival is a combination of sadness and happiness.

Tomb sweeping is regarded as the most important custom in the Qingming Festival from which the name of Tomb-sweeping day is got. Cleaning the tomb and paying respect to the dead person with offerings are the two important parts of remembering the past relatives. Weeds around the tomb are cleared away and fresh soil is added to show care of the dead. The dead person’s favourite food and wine are taken to sacrifice to them, along with paper resembling money. This is all burned in the hope that the deceased are not lacking food and money. Kowtow before the tablets set up for the dead are made.

Today, with cremation taking over from burying, the custom has been extremely simplified in cities. Only flowers are presented to the dead relatives and revolutionary martyrs. No matter how respect is shown, good prayers for the deceased are expressed.

Not only is it a day for commemorating the dead, is it also a festival for people to enjoy themselves. During March, everything in nature takes on a new look, as trees turn green, flowers blossom, and the sun shines brightly. It is a fine time to go out and to appreciate the beautiful scenes of nature during the festival. This custom can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) and followed by each dynasty later till today. So visitors can be seen everywhere during the month of the festival.

Spring outings not only add joy to life but also promote a healthy body and mind.

Flying kites is an activity favored by many people during the Qingming Festival. Kites are not only flown during the day time but also in the evening. Little lanterns are tied to the kite or to the string that holds the kite. And when the kite is flying in the sky, the lanterns look like twinkling stars that add unique scenery to the sky during the night. What makes flying kites during this festival special is that people cut the string while the kite is in the sky to let it fly free. It is said this brings good luck and that diseases can be eliminated by doing this.

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Warmer weather has come to Jingzhou!

I know that should bring no alarm to those back in America, but you’ve had warm weather for quite a long time, it seems. We still have some ‘up and down’ temperature changes but spring-like weather is appearing occasionally. The word the students always use to describe the weather: changeable.

I remember at MTSU many years ago that the warm sunshine meant young female students missing that week of classes and spending a lot of time on top of the dorm buildings beginning their sun-worship, in anticipation of spring break.

Our sophomore students are studying diligently for the TEM4 test, a national big-time exam for English major students. It is a big deal to them, and they put forth a mighty effort to pass, though some are taking it as juniors, since they failed last year.

Because of their dedication, our Saturday Life group has not been able to meet, after getting over 65 different students here during a three-week period, some of them for the first time at a sit-down discussion of Important Things. We planted some seed, and we cannot ever take it personally, because the schedules often change with little or no warning.

We also know that a lot of May will be spent in speech competitions, and we will be asked to judge many of them.

The other side of the coin? We had over 75 of TJ’s students here for a ‘come and visit” hour the weekend we realized the sophs were no longer going to be available. Hoping our contacts now will bear fruit when they come to our campus next fall.

We had a great Friday discussion group with three first-time students. (Two were unable to come, but three new ones). They are so perceptive, with wonderful questions about faith and the difficulty we all face with struggles in the world with The One over all…why does the suffering occur, etc.?

One of our students, who has been part of our groups for many, many weeks, also brought TJ two porcelain dolls, and another student gave  Terry two sleeve protectors, which are part of the Chinese winter wear that protects their coats.

We watched four of our students involved in badminton competition…two advanced to the second round before losing.

One conversation was especially revealing: when asked why she had not yet played, she said “my partner has not yet come..she is in another dormitory.” I was confused by the word ‘partner,’ since it was singles activity. She replied honestly, “I do not want to use the word opponent, so I say she is my partner.”

I hit a few minutes with two of the students, helping them warm-up, and saw my first roller-blades on our campus…the youngster was just learning but doing very well getting his balance and maneuvering across the court.

Have enjoyed listening to March Madness via the radio…since the games are not free on the internet for the initial time. I am leading the Pilgrim League pick ‘em contest and in the top 96 percentile of the nation. Missouri messed my bracket up, since I had them in the final four, but no other major disappointments… Duke losing in the first round was a surprise but not upsetting to many of us, except for my brother, Bo, of course.

I do not expect the Lady Vols to get past Baylor in their bracket, though I know some Waco, Texas relatives are enjoying the games more than ever this year 🙂

With the warmer weather, more and more folks of all ages are outside on the weekends, enjoying their neighbors and taking part in many different kind of activities.

We had some 75+ of TJ’s students in our apartment for about an hour this weekend, and, according to them, the freshmen English major students will stay on the West campus when they become sophomores. That will mean we are not close to them for two (and maybe more) years, and it limits the amount of time we will have with them for Important Things. We will wait and see what happens for the next school year…if they are here, we will want to move to the West campus, though there are many things not so convenient there.

Some of the classes come bearings gifts of fruit or flowers, which we try to share with others so they will not go bad.

I just returned from taking some of the flowers to Dean Catherine, the head of our English department and also our upstairs neighbor. She commented on how “pretty the singing was Sunday morning…I might want to attend one of your meetings.” We had three Family members from the East campus (oral English teachers) so the singing was especially good…people are listening.

I asked her about the ‘rumors’ about the English department moving to the West campus next semester…she said it is something being considered but “no formal discussions are being held right now and no decision has been made.” I shared with her that Terry and I wanted to be where the students were, and she agreed to share that if/when formal discussions commenced.

When we were ready to use Skype the other night, there were 31.5 million users online…wow! I know we would not be here unless we had access to see and hear our children and grandsons!

Greetings from Terry: It has been so cold I have not even considered sweeping our apartment stairs lately. I had just been noticing that they were really dirty the other morning and planned on tackling the job this week. That same afternoon a large group of student volunteers from our campus converged on our building and not only swept all of the stairs but washed them with buckets of water and dusted the hand rails. It looks so very nice. Some of them were our students so I sent a text to them with a sincere “Thank you” and told them I would do my part to help keep them clean.

My daughter, Tonia, mentioned the different names some of my students have chosen as their English names. She commented that it must be hard to keep a straight face when I call on “Sheep” or “Kaleidoscope” in class. Since they see it as a temporary label some of them really do choose odd ones. But really the unique ones make it easier for me to remember them so it is a big help, even when it brings a smile to my heart.

This morning we were up early to go to the vegetable market. Then Gary went to represent us as he cheered on our students at the badminton competition on our campus. One of my students on the West Campus had called and said she had many doubts and confusion about life and it seems too heavy. I invited her over to talk and have lunch with us. She was grateful and came for a good visit but had to decline the lunch. I found out her cousin knows where our strength comes from and has shared our favorite book with her. This is a happy discovery for me. We were able to share some passages and even talk to Him. So she left feeling much encouraged and I too felt refreshed.

She desires to become a teacher for a few years, then travel around China getting to know the people and be a leader. She is a young woman of compassion and understanding. I am blessed to be here at this time and get to encourage her.

After lunch we had two different groups of my new students in for visitations. Tomorrow, Sunday, we have two more visitation groups coming in the afternoon…a total of some 80+ students They are good and beneficial times, but I will say we sleep really well when night time comes.

More to come, but in several larger Vitiligro spots, the pigmentation is now definitely coming back on my neck. Thanks for your prayers on my behalf! – Love, Terry

China News — Cost of education can ruin parents. A recent audit at Dickinson State University in the United States will have made uncomfortable reading for parents in China.

Over the last four years, according to the audit, the college in North Dakota had issued diplomas to 400 foreign students despite their failure to complete the required coursework. Roughly 95 percent of these students were Chinese.

It was just one of several controls “waived or intentionally overridden or ignored” by DSU, according to the audit, which has again cast a spotlight on the risks families face in paying out huge sums to have their children educated overseas. Such investments often create what sociologists call “the new urban poor”.

“Parents are surrendering their last resources to wager them on a child’s future by sending them abroad,” said Lao Kaisheng, an education policy researcher at Capital Normal University. “If these children don’t get the decent jobs and the salary that is expected, their parents will naturally be sucked into poverty.”

Ministry of Education data show that more than 330,000 people nationwide went abroad for study in 2011, making China the largest supplier of students to Western schools.

The desire to send offspring to schools overseas has existed for decades, although today it is largely fueled by the belief that it gives youngsters an advantage in the tough domestic employment market.

However, not many Chinese families have enough saved in the bank to cover the tuition fees and accommodation and living expenses involved in overseas study potentially hundreds of thousands of yuan. Instead, many are choosing to take on massive debt at a critical time in their own life. It is a gamble, experts say, and the stakes are high.

A freshman student in Nanjing decided to donate her body to her school for medical research after dying of melanoma, the Nanjing Daily reported.

Li Juan, 21, was a nursing major at Nanjing Medical University. She was diagnosed with melanoma in December after feeling unwell in her throat. Li Juan died on Feb 28.

Li Juan was from a poor family where her mother was unable to work after brain surgery and her father and younger brother had to support the whole family. The university organized a charity donation of more than 38,700 yuan for Li after her illness was diagnosed.

Li requested in her last days for her body to be donated to the school for melanoma research.

“She might hope to continue to live her medical dream by contributing her body,” the paper said, quoting the class director Lu Xi.

Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said  Sunday that China, now the world’s second largest importer, will become the biggest in a few years.

China not only provides the world with high-quality products at low costs, but also buys high-end goods supplied by global brands, Chen said at the China Development Forum 2012.

The growth rate of China’s retail sales stayed between 16 percent and 18 percent over recent years, higher than its GDP growth, indicating the country’s huge purchasing potential, the minister said.

Chen said many Western politicians blamed China for global trade imbalance, but they seldom mentioned that China, with its population only accounting for 19 percent of the world total, is also the world’s second largest importer.

Trade remedy measures adopted by some developed countries are undesirable, because they are neither fair to other economies, nor just to domestic citizens and enterprises, Chen added.

China’s trade surplus narrowed 14.5 percent year-on-year to $155.14 billion in 2011, with imports up 24.9 percent to $1.74 trillion, customs data showed.

The Chinese capital was blanketed by spring snow on Sunday morning, after a day of heavy fog that has grounded hundreds of flights in the country’s north.

Rain began to hit Beijing Saturday evening and later turned into snow. As of 6 am Sunday, snow has accumulated to as deep as eight centimeters in parts of the city.

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We often have simple conversations with the students, asking straight-forward questions and getting quick answers, and find out later that we have completely miscommunicated. We ask about a common exam they are concerned over, and get different answers about who can take it and what it is supposed to accomplish. Similar issues have also arisen with our closest teachers friends, though Howard is usually the one who can make it clear, eventually. Words do get in the way, sometimes 🙂

• It is our understanding that it is against the law here to have ultra-sounds to determine the sex of an unborn child.
• Young adults have to have a birth-permit in order to have a child, and you must be married and 25-years old. The penalty in both cases is a hefty fine.
• A public marriage is a major event here, but the marriage itself actually takes place in a government office, where they fill out papers and register as a married couple in the province. Sometimes a couple is married for 2-3 weeks before the ceremony.
• It is  our understanding that there are now some 4,500 buildings under construction in Wuhan, the capital of our province. This is the place we figure Eric and the family will be closer to, since they have many hundreds of universities (the number is still unclear to me, due to those ‘words’ getting in the way.
• Rumors on a college campus is normal, even in the United States…so there are several here. Last semester the rumor was that our entire University was moving to Wuhan, 3 hours east by van…the graduate school did move. This semester, we are all moving from the Central campus to the West campus..the small economics department did move. We will watch and see, since the rumor persists that we will all eventually be moved to the West campus, 8-10 miles away.

We have just celebrated Girl’s Day and Woman’s Day, back-to-back days that honor the place of these two groups. They celebrated on campus with class parties and Terry received some greetings from some students, wishing her peace and happiness.

We went from a near cancellation at the last minute due to schedule conflicts to one of our best teacher’s discussions of the semester, with one new member and two others here for only the second time.

This is my favorite group: more mature, have some history with the Important Things, and they are very-y-y interested in giving of their time….we’re meeting on Thursday p.m. now instead of Sunday a.m. at their request in spite of having classes during the day and a two-hour faculty meeting from 4-6 p.m.

We had a great surprise for lunch…our initial study group, from English Corner over one year ago, invited us to eat lunch with them and we also ate birthday cake to honor Sophie’s 21st birthday…a nice time with some of our oldest friends here. They are in the second semester of their junior year, so we do not get to have special time with them as often…this time next year they will be in many other places.

We had one of Terry’s classes over for a ‘get to know you’ time and Daisy sent this on QQ: “Today we had a happy day in your home…it’s warm seeing that you are living a happy life which I’m always dreaming of…I think I learned something from you two. Thank you.“

We had a great Assembly and studied Ephesians 2, about a household, building, and temple. When we told of our grandson’s New Birth in America, one of the sisters said plainly and quietly, “the building is growing.”

Vicky and Qin Ju Sen took me to a local supply store for some art brushes and some paper to send to my brother, Terry Alan, who is also an artist and wants to experiment on ‘the real thing.’ Qin Ju Sen is the senior art student who did my two paintings back in December.

We have had over 65 students here for a first-time Saturday night Life Lesson but the TEM4 exam is taking them away after three weeks…it is a BIG exam they must pass as English majors and every waking moment is filled with studying. I am glad we have a solid group of teachers interested to fill the void for 3-4 weeks.

Greetings from Terry: As in other semesters the students choose interesting temporary English names when they are in our classes. Some of the unique ones from this semester are: Sheep, Leaves, Shadow, Kaleidescope, Pain and Mint.

I am pleased to discover good moral quotes and topics in one of my new text books which open up good discussions. Today I had made some “American Culture” statements about how I was raised and how I live. After class the last student to leave told me that she believes in Him, too (only she used his name). She said her parents do not believe but that her Aunt and Uncle had taught her. I invited her to our Saturday discussion. We did not get to talk any more specifically at that time. I had already noticed her sweet spirit seeming to reach out to me. It makes me very happy to know and I look forward to getting to know her.

English Corner has started once a week again. It is on Wednesday nights this semester. This time we met in an assigned room which is much warmer. Everyone listened and participated which made it more enjoyable and easier to hear and be heard.

Today was rich. My Thursday 8:00 a.m. class are thinkers and they are not afraid to communicate. Our last two units were on success and heroes. Cookie said “develop your inner spirit”. Jessie said, “Success is like the up and downs of waves.” “Success is not the end of work.” Allison said, “Success can be solving a math problem if math is hard for you.” Ivan cannot yet look at me when she speaks but she said, “Attitude makes success.” Jimmy said he thinks Americans and Chinese have much in common. Abraham Lincoln is his hero because he cared and helped people of color. He asked me if I new what ABC was. He said A is for America, C is for China and B is blood that connects them. Sila quoted Kennedy and also said something about success is having order in your life. Jacki said, “Success is opportunity to everyone.”

Tonight as we were getting ready for our discussion with the teacher group in our apartment we found out one more wants to come for important learning. She has just returned from six months of studying abroad in Iowa. She has begun the journey of following the most important book and is so excited to find a group of people with the same interests.

This is so much fun. The fields are white unto harvest. — Terry

“History shows women have made great strides in the fight for equality, including the right to vote, and major inroads in equal opportunities at home, in the workplace and in education. Though today gender bias continues to create barriers for some, Chinese women are playing a more important role in today’s society. As the saying goes, they hold up half the sky.

“International Women’s Day this year gives us an opportunity to review what Chinese women have achieved so far, both in family and in workplace, and what they are striving for amid changing attitudes towards gender equality, virginity, family and work.”

I recommend a very interesting website here in the China Daily site: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-03/08/content_14742395.htm. It speaks of the Road to Equality” of women in this country and has a full discussion of virginity, etc.

When explaining the necessity to amend the law to a plenary meeting during the annual session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC), Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee said that (photo above) amending the law is to strengthen punishment of crimes and protection of the people.

It is also necessary to revise the law to strengthen and make innovations in social administration and maintain social harmony and stability, and deepen judicial system reform, Wang added. The draft amendment to Criminal Procedure Law was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for first reading in August 2011 and for second reading in December 2011. China’s current Criminal Procedure Law was enacted in 1979 and amended in 1996.

Adding the article of protecting human rights to the Criminal Procedure Law will help judicial organs observe and implement this constitutional principle in criminal proceedings, Wang said.

Employment challenges are growing due to an unbalanced job market and a large number of people seeking work, a top labor official said on Wednesday.  “Cities and towns will see 25 million more people join the workforce this year, over half of whom will be university and college graduates, while another 9 to 10 million will be surplus rural laborers,” Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said at a news conference.

Graduates are finding it difficult to get jobs and many enterprises are facing problems in recruiting workers and technicians, revealing structural problems in the work market, he said.

China aims to create more than 9 million jobs this year and keep the registered unemployment rate below 4.6 percent, according to the government’s work report released on Monday.

Some analysts believe that slowing economic growth will see enterprises reduce their intake of new workers, exacerbating the employment situation.  China is aiming for GDP growth of 7.5 percent this year, much lower than 2011’s 9.2 percent. Yin Weimin said the government would introduce a package of measures, such as more training and more efficient public services, to help expand the job market.

To help with the employment of graduates, Yin said that the government will encourage them to find grassroots-level jobs in central and western regions and would encourage graduates to start their own businesses.

China News: History shows women have made great strides in the fight for equality, including the right to vote, and major inroads in equal opportunities at home, in the workplace and in education. Though today gender bias continues to create barriers for some, Chinese women are playing a more important role in today’s society. As the saying goes, they hold up half the sky.

“International Women’s Day this year gives us an opportunity to review what Chinese women have achieved so far, both in family and in workplace, and what they are striving for amid changing attitudes towards gender equality, virginity, family and work.”

I recommend a very interesting website here in the China Daily site: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-03/08/content_14742395.htm. It speaks of the Road to Equality” of women in this country and has a full discussion of virginity, etc.

When explaining the necessity to amend the law to a plenary meeting during the annual session of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC), Wang Zhaoguo, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee said that (photo above) amending the law is to strengthen punishment of crimes and protection of the people.

It is also necessary to revise the law to strengthen and make innovations in social administration and maintain social harmony and stability, and deepen judicial system reform, Wang added. The draft amendment to Criminal Procedure Law was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for first reading in August 2011 and for second reading in December 2011. China’s current Criminal Procedure Law was enacted in 1979 and amended in 1996.

Adding the article of protecting human rights to the Criminal Procedure Law will help judicial organs observe and implement this constitutional principle in criminal proceedings, Wang said.

Employment challenges are growing due to an unbalanced job market and a large number of people seeking work, a top labor official said on Wednesday.  “Cities and towns will see 25 million more people join the workforce this year, over half of whom will be university and college graduates, while another 9 to 10 million will be surplus rural laborers,” Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said at a news conference.

Graduates are finding it difficult to get jobs and many enterprises are facing problems in recruiting workers and technicians, revealing structural problems in the work market, he said.

China aims to create more than 9 million jobs this year and keep the registered unemployment rate below 4.6 percent, according to the government’s work report released on Monday.

Some analysts believe that slowing economic growth will see enterprises reduce their intake of new workers, exacerbating the employment situation.  China is aiming for GDP growth of 7.5 percent this year, much lower than 2011’s 9.2 percent. Yin Weimin said the government would introduce a package of measures, such as more training and more efficient public services, to help expand the job market.

To help with the employment of graduates, Yin said that the government will encourage them to find grassroots-level jobs in central and western regions and would encourage graduates to start their own businesses.

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I am very grateful for many things: 392 students who are willing to let me teach them for 90-minutes per week in eight classes Tuesday-Friday; a group of teachers (7) and two groups of students (we had 30 one night) who care about Important Things, and some Family (5-10) who are a joy to know and special Friends when we gather around The Supper.

We discovered a display that sells good, lean portions of pork in the back-gate market…and after Terry cooked it in the crock-pot, it was simply the best! Wow! It was such a surprise and so-o-o convenient!

It seems like we are tired much of the time right now, but we have time to rest before the next day’s events. We are eating the same 5-8 things weekly…and loving it…and thus are maintaining the healthiest lifestyle we’ve ever had. We might grow tired of those same things, but, for now, it is very-y-y good.

I have discovered something again about the time to read here in China: because there is no television to watch or children to take care of, and it’s too cold to even go to parts of our own apartment, much less go outside, we have time every day to cuddle up under two layers of clothes or get under four layers of cover on the bed…and read for a while.

While we were on our ‘road trip during April-December, 2010, and here in 2011, I have enjoyed the opportunity to read many, many books…I am very-y-y-y grateful for the time and our Kindles daily 🙂

(Terry says “me too” to most of the above…she cooks and washes and take care of me, so she has less time, though I help her in every way possible. She teases me that sometimes she needs to work alone so she can get it done faster, but also so she can get warm again on these cold days when half of our apartment is around 58 degrees in the morning hours, even with a floor heater running full-speed ahead 🙂

We are handling the cold by taking one day at a time, and with classroom temps around 40 degrees, it will be nice to see some warmer weather in a few more days.

Two of our Sunday Assembly Family are expecting in July. We know their travel will lighten as those due dates grow closer, and we will miss their joyful dispositions and great interest and questions!

We have a new deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office, and are waiting to see if it changes anything about our tasks here. It seemed like a sudden event…and this is the office that is ‘in charge’ of the foreign teachers. Change is never simple here, but it also seems to occur quickly, with little or no warning…we will keep you in touch. I know we have already waited over five days for a response to a question and it usually comes within minutes, so it might also have involved the staff, as well.

We received a long email that informed us that a Japanese foreign teacher had a break-in at his apartment, and received a long email warning with advise from Dean Catherine about what we should do to insure more safety (of course, we were already doing most of what they suggested).

China Daily News: Let’s include South China in heating, says adviser — The heating program in northern China should be expanded to include the south, a political adviser said, Nanfang Daily reported.

Winters in recent years have been particularly cold in southern provinces such as Guangdong and Guizhou, where winters are usually mild compared to the north. Coupled with the humidity, it feels even colder in the south than the north, said the adviser, Zhang Xiaomei. Currently, the heating program is limited to areas north of the Qinling Mountain-Huaihe River line.

BEIJING – China has made the first annual reduction in its holdings of US Treasury bonds in a decade. Experts are viewing the move as a sign that the country is accelerating the move away from dollar assets in search of more diversified investment channels.

According to the latest monthly figures from the US Treasury Department, China’s holdings of US Treasury bonds dropped for a fifth consecutive month in Dec to $1.15 trillion.

The number was an update of a figure released in February, after the US department adjusted its method of collecting data on foreign holdings of US government bonds, a move aimed at obtaining more information about the use of proxies buying and holding US securities.

As a result, China’s June holdings of US Treasury securities have been amended to $1.31 trillion instead of $1.17 trillion. The figure at the end of 2011 was $51 billion higher than the previous calculation.

According to the revised data, China cut its holdings of US debt by $8.2 billion in 2011 compared with the previous year. It was the first time that the country had reduced its yearly holdings since 2001.

BEIJING –  China’s defense spending will see a double-digit increase again in 2012, as strong economic growth continues to fuel rapid military expansion, the country’s legislature spokesman said Sunday. Li Zhaoxing said defense spending would increase by 11.2 percent over actual spending last year to hit 670.2 billion yuan ($106.4 billion) in 2012, an increase of about 67 billion yuan.

China’s official defense spending is the largest in the world after the United States, but actual spending, according to foreign defense experts, may be 50 percent higher, as China excludes outlays for its nuclear missile force and other programs.

Li, speaking at a news conference a day before the opening of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, said China’s military spending was small as a percentage of gross domestic product compared to other countries, especially the United States.

“China is committed to the path of peaceful development and follows a national defense policy that is defensive in nature,” Li said. “You see, China has 1.3 billion people, a large territory and long coastline, but our defense spending is relatively low compared with other major countries.”

Last year’s military spending amounted to 1.28 percent of China’s economy, Li said. By contrast, the ratio stood at 4.8 percent for the U.S. in 2010, according to the World Bank.

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We had some snow in Jingzhou over the weekend…in the air but never accumulated on the ground…which was OK with us. We had some highs in the low 60’s for a few days and got fooled thinking spring might be here early…then it got back into the 38-41 degree range as the high for the day! Ouch!

We’ve had our teeth cleaned and it proved to be a public event. There are no appointments and future patients are allowed to ‘hang around’ the doctor for many procedures. It took some ‘getting used to’ but was OK, because the technician was so thorough and professional…we will definitely do it again. I plan to get a crown on my tooth in a few weeks, when we can find the time.

Our dental cleaning was at the Central Hospital, where all medical practice is conducted. While Terry was getting her teeth cleaned, Howard heard 3-4 people talking and volunteered that “they are talking about how young Terry looks.”

I told him that she had heard it before, in several different places. “She does not have many wrinkles on her face,” he said. “Yes, you are right, she does not have many wrinkles,” I agreed. He tapped me lightly on the shoulder, and said, looking straight into my eyes, “You are fortunate.”

The cleaning cost was 171.25 yuan each ($26.55), and we’ll get most of it back through our medical plan through the University. We have not received reimbursements yet, but we either get full reimbursement or 90% for all doctor visits and medicines. We are very grateful, since we’ve gone a few years at different times in America without medical insurance.

We learn something each week about our students….found it amazing to hear two of the girls say they had never washed/dried/put away dishes before…they were early for a Life Lesson and TJ was finishing up the dinner dishes…they both offered to help, and acknowledged having never done it before. It speaks to the ‘one child’ mentality to keep their minds/hearts on their studies and ‘doing everything else for them.’

Learning to work while at home, or literally ‘being at home’ are two things lacking in many homes, since many middle and senior school students live at school, rather than at home, or with grandparents, and go to school from 6:30 am—10:00 pm, with a break for lunch and a short ‘rest break 11:30-1:30 pm.

Stella came for lunch one Saturday…she is one of TJ’s better students and we are enjoying her very much…we look forward to having her on our campus as a sophomore next semester! She said that as soon as she was with us, she felt very comfortable, “…like I do with my relatives. The communication is also very good.” Of course, we are thankful.

I found a kindred spirit again in Ling, one of my students. In the middle of class, his eyes brightened as he looked at my paperback text book, with a spiral binder I had installed while in America. I like the ability to lay the book flat and also hold it ‘in half.’ He also liked those features, and is working now to find the process somewhere in China.

Little by little, we are finding items we need here in China…two of our teacher friends helped TJ find cough medicine that would help ‘finish off’ her lingering cold…and I again found Metformin in the pharmacy here outside our front-gate….two yuan (16 cents) for three-week supply.

One of our students gave us some sausage, from her hometown. Not sure we wanted to try it; I overcooked itbut would not buy it for myself…missing the spices that make Jimmy Dean so good, I guess 🙂

TJ’s dermatologist here is willing to send medicines to America for those who have Vitiligro, after he sees pictures of their ’spots’ and looks at any medical history issues. We are surprised but grateful that perhaps some friends (and friends of friends) can also get some help.

We’ve hung a rope in our office area to dry laundry during this cold weather. I brought some hooks from Home Depot back and drilled/installed them into the concrete wall. I am amazed that wet clothes will eventually dry outdoors, or at least the Chinese say they do, because that is their method during the winter.

I have enjoyed getting to know better so-o-o-o many of the students, since we’re now spending a 2nd year with many of them. One sweet young lady, an angel named Angel, was concerned that she was having to miss some weekly discussions because she had a schedule conflict. I told her we understand that their schedules get fuller when they are finishing their junior years…she seemed relieved…and I told her we also have realized that they will soon be leaving…that is the way it is with the university environment. “We miss you when you are not here, but we understand,” I said. She had a big smile.

Greetings from Terry: This week I discovered where the teachers go before class on the West campus in the morning when the bus drops us off 20 minutes before class. It is just a room with table and chairs but it is nice to have a place out of the weather where we can sit and visit instead of going to the room so early.

Keven went home for his grandmother’s funeral this past weekend and was not able to be with us Sunday so we had him over for dinner Tuesday evening. We had chicken spaghetti, stir fried veggies, garlic bread, fruit salad and a Milano double chocolate cookie. After the water was turned off all afternoon till 4:30, and the gas for the stove running completely out just as I finished cooking the chicken and putting the noodles on to cook, I was really thankful it all came together and was quite tasty after all. So glad we had a microwave so I could finish the dinner.

Today I greased all the door hinges with the Crisco I brought from America. I do believe it has taken care of the squeaks. I learned that from the book, The Help. Reading is so beneficial. 🙂

This semester I don’t have any classes on Wednesday. I love having a midweek break from classes to catch up on all the other parts of life. As it turns out, the fact that I have eight classes using three different books isn’t as difficult as I had thought it would be. The different books keep me from going crazy repeating the same lesson so many times.

Also, Gary gave me a great idea for my lesson plan to use in my sophomore class. He had the same students the previous two semesters. So he knows how they think and what level they are. I am so glad, because teaching the older students is more intimidating to me. So far it is going well and I am enjoying all of my classes. Three of my classes are brand new to me and four are repeats from last semester.

I was not able to get my teeth cleaned as planned in the states so Howard made arrangements at a place close by that his family uses. So that will be a new experience for me. I am requesting all goes well and will let you know how it turns out. (It went well…very professional and well done…very public, with several other patients stopping by to look us over with our mouth wide open.) C.Y.H. (Consider Yourselves Hugged) — Terry.

News from China: BEIJING – Producers and sellers of “gutter oil”, or illegally recycled cooking oil, could face the death penalty, China’s top court reaffirmed on Thursday. The reaffirmation is the country’s latest effort to crack down on a cause of public concern over food safety in the world’s most populous country.

“Courts should fully consider suspects’ subjective intention, the amount of money involved and the harm that has been done to the public and the market,” read a circular issued on Thursday by the Supreme People’s Court, China’s top court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the top prosecuting body, and the Ministry of Public Security. “For those who deserve death, death penalties should be handed down resolutely,” it said.

Gutter oil can contain carcinogens and other toxins that are harmful when consumed by people. The government launched a massive crackdown last year after media reports said gutter oil has been rampant in China.

Police have busted 100 gutter oil manufacturers since August and arrested about 800 suspects in 135 cases in the campaign, Xinhua News Agency said.

The notice issued on Thursday also said the court should impose “harsh punishments” on government officials if they fail to fulfill their duties and that “causes damage to public health” and “erodes the government’s credibility”.

According to a law amendment enacted in May, criminals convicted of food safety crimes that cause death will be put behind bars for at least 10 years. Life sentences and the death penalty could be also handed down. In the past two years, 726 criminals have received jail sentences for producing and selling tainted food. The most severe punishment was a death sentence with a two-year reprieve.

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Greetings: Our trip to the states to visit family and friends was so very good. Each stop filled our hearts with love and joy and gave us the encouragement we need for this next semester. My words cannot express it properly.

Our flight back went well. Keven gave us some cookies and yeast bread he had made fresh himself. They were both delicious. I was impressed.

It was so good to unpack our suitcases and settle in. The first real meal I cooked was pinto beans, slaw and cornbread with chow-chow, from supplies we brought back with us.

As you know, my family and I are continuing to make requests on behalf of my Vitiligro white spots do to loss of pigmentation. I have also been taking traditional Chinese medicine for two and a half months. Two of the spots on my hands are regaining pigment. I am so very thankful. My recent blood work shows my liver is still OK to continue the medicine. I will keep you posted.

Yeah! I finished my first two days of classes. It was about 42 degrees this morning on the West Campus as I was hurrying to my first of two classes. Then I saw three of my former students. It was so good to see them again. All of a sudden I didn’t feel the cold, just the warmth of their smiles and well wishes. As I was coming through the Central gate on my way home after my second class, cold, tired and hungry I saw three other former students. Immediately I was filled with joy and energy to get up the four flights of stairs to the apartment while thinking, “It is worth all the effort.”

My precious Gary had our leftover chicken soup heated and cheese toast ready to eat when I entered the apartment. Life is good. Our older brother is gracious.

Friday after classes Kelly (Chinese English teacher) and I took a bus to Xiangyang for my follow-up visit with Dr. Li. When contacting the doctor to see if he would be in the office on Saturday he said no and that he would be in Wuhan at a meeting. However when he found our I was ready for my follow up visit and could come on that weekend he volunteered to cancel the meeting and be in his office to see me. We spent the night in 7 Days Inn, got to the hospital early the next morning and was the first one to see the doctor when he came in. He could see improvement and said to continue the medicine and return in three months.

We had time to return to the hotel for the free breakfast; hot soy milk, hot rice porridge garnished with cold salty diced vegetables, steamed bread called baozi, boiled egg and an apple to take with us. We were able to get an early bus back to Jingzhou. All in all a good quick trip. I am so very thankful for Kelly who did a great job translating for me.

We are very encouraged by the many students who are seeking to study The Good Book. Also they are very thankful for the gloves many of you sent. — Love from Terry.

From Gary: We attended the wedding of Xia Guan, our Foreign Affairs Office contact, and I met the president of our university (see photo above…also with Catherine, the Dean of the English Department and our upstairs neighbor… that is Sprite we’re drinking). He volunteered in his comments that “the students like you very much, especially that you have many of them into your apartment.” I am glad he knows and approves.
He also commented on two articles in the local newspaper of our participation in the Sports Meeting last semester and this month’s Valentine’s Day article.

The wedding party had some 250 guests in a sit-down meal. Lots of pomp and circumstance and noise (loud-ness is important to the Chinese; it represents happiness and having a good time…they seem to create noise on purpose to make that point, using loud public address system in the hotel banquet room environment).
We met some of the family members and were given two special toasts, as the foreign teachers/visitors.

Xia Guan has been a big help to us, through the FAO, and was the first person we met when we came to the Wuhan airport. They had some of the most elaborate pictures put to a power-point style display that I have seen…great photography with multiple wardrobe changes. Excellent food (edible for me, who is a little picky).
Two Florida groups helped us collect some gloves and we passed out our first pairs today, after ‘getting the word out’ to the students the past week. We certainly appreciate those who helped us collect some 55 pairs. They noticed immediately that most of them were made in Taiwan or China 🙂

I received my A1C blood-level report from the Chinese hospital just after the last newsletter was sent out: 6.2 for the past 9-12 weeks, which also includes hamburgers and bar-b-que, etc., while in America!:-)…weighed 172 when I arrived in America and 175 when I left to come back to China … not bad, huh?

Our first Life Lesson groups met…on Friday we invited 20 and had 14…on Saturday we invited 20 and had 30, all of them here for the first time for Important Matters. It was a little crowded, but great enthusiasm and interest! Many of the Friday group were juniors and seniors, while the Saturday group is mostly new to our Life Lesson sessions and were sophomores. We talked about Meaning of Life/Purpose/New Year’s Resolution….”you were a person before you were a student and you will be a person after you are a student….it is not just about exams and school work. Dissatisfaction…Decision… Direction… Determination… Discipline are the steps.”

We were told in training and through books we read that they Chinese do not do well in the ‘critical thinking’ department here…I had a first hand experience where I needed to do some critical thinking myself. Went to the bank after returning from the States and did not remember my pin-number at the ATM…went back to the bank the next day and it did not allow me to re-enter numbers and get some much-needed cash.

I took my ATM card to a bank attendant, pointed to the ATM…they followed me over and watched what it did…he took it to another bank attendant and they scanned the card and began looking at the computer screen. I wrote down my correct pin number, she looked at it and smiled, and pushed some computer keys…and gave me a ‘thumbs-up’…I used the ATM and got the funds needed.

No problem dealing with kind, helpful individuals, even though we could not understand a single word each was speaking. I might be pretty good at charades, it seems 🙂

In their introductory speeches, several of the girls spoke of being used as a baby-sitter during their break from school. They all thought the child was cute, etc., but all used one word to also describe them: naughty. It is a common expression, used to speak of their energy, but also that some of them cry a lot, it seems.
For the first time, several commented on how cold it is during the spring/winter holiday, and how difficult travel is, etc. They also spoke of how boring time at home can be, though they enjoy family, sleeping late, and delicious foods. I love two expressions I hear daily here: It is a pity. It is my pleasure.

Terry and I have felt the cold this week more than we remember from last year, when we first arrived. We’re heading to bed 30-40 minutes sooner than ever before, probably in order to get warm.

I have adopted iTunes podcasts as a way to keep up with news and sports events. I have subscribed to some of my favorite reports and listen to them each week.

All the pledged funds have now come in, with the exception of one group’s, and it will be deposited within the next 2-3 weeks. Thank you (!!) for your support of our work here, helping us pay some state-side expenses while we are away. The Parkway family is in the process of selling or giving away to those in need many of our storage items that would not ‘do well’ staying in storage 2-4 years. We are naturally keeping some of the items that will ‘do OK’ in storage for 3-5 years.

One of our best students in wanting to travel abroad this summer, and since we will not be in the States, we are wondering if anyone out there would like to host a smart, talented young man for a few weeks in your home? We would sure like to have him exposed more to Important Things. You would have no issues with his values or behavior…he is a sharp guy. Let me know and we will proceed with talking about the possibility.

Other news from China: Linsane! This country is certainly proud of its newest international hero, Jeremy Lin, the NBA’s first American-Taiwanese player. He is winning basketball games for the New York Knicks and drawing huge crowds in the process.

Lin had 27 points and a career-high 11 assists in his first game since being named Eastern Conference player of the week, two weeks ago. A season-high crowd of 20,092 roared as Lin drained a pull-up jumper from the top with half a second to play in Toronto.

Local media also took note; some 75 reporters and 16 cameras packed a Tuesday morning press conference to hear Lin speak, with dozens more turned away to prevent overcrowding. More than 25 Chinese Canadian journalists were due to cover the game, including one who presented Lin with a book of “Year of the Dragon” stamps from Canada Post and asked him to record a message in Mandarin, which he did.

China’s enthusiasm for basketball and the NBA has held strong despite Yao’s retirement and China remains the league’s biggest market outside North America.

Even the country’s vice president and designated future leader, Xi Jinping, recently said he enjoys watching NBA games in his spare time.

Twenty-five years after the league partnered with state broadcaster CCTV, the audience for NBA games on television and online has risen 39 percent this year over the last season, the NBA says. The league also claims 41 million followers on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging service, including many who pay for its premium service, along with 25,000 points of sale in shops and online.

Despite that, the league is struggling to get jerseys into stores to satisfy demand for all things Lin, whose followers on Weibo have soared this week from 150,000 to 1.4 million by Friday.

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It is winter-time in China. I am thankful we have developed a positive ‘one day at a time, attitude of gratitude’ over the past six decades. It made our re-entry easier.

We arrived with our mental and physical conditions in good shape, despite the long trip. It seemed especially long between San Francisco and Hong Kong, in spite of plenty of entertainment opportunities.

This is now our home, and it was good to be back. We sure rested well the first night in our China bed! It took three nights and two naps before we had our ‘days and nights’ straight. 🙂

Keven had turned on the apartment heaters in advance of our arrival, so it was 65 degrees in the bedrooms and 59 in the other rooms when we arrived….with two layers of clothes, it was comfortable…and still working to get a little warmer.

Terry stayed warm the first two days cleaning the mess left by workmen who did some repair work while we were away…plus getting 6.5-week dust off everything. I have found again that I do not like being cold…enjoyed warm weather in South Florida and Texas so it did not prepare me for our return. 🙂

The ‘Prayer Room’ in the Hong Kong airport got our attention. Since it is now under the influence of China, it is a good sign, and one we hope to help create more of on the Mainland. I cannot honestly say that I remember seeing one in an American airport, though they are certainly in hospitals and other public places.

During a two-hour layover in Hong Kong it struck me anew that we really are in this part of the world….for someone who had not traveled outside of the USA very often, this is really something.

On a wet and cold San Antonio morning, just before we began our return to China, Brinson and Wendy (see photos) competed in a 5K race and took 3rd and 4th, respectively, in their age groups. Brinson finished in 32 minutes and competed against boys four years older! The rest of us, along with hundreds of Lackland Air Force Base trainees, just got soaking wet and ‘froze to our bones.’

I noticed in Hong Kong that there was virtually no one staring at us, which is unusual. It probably speaks to the international status of the area…they are used to seeing foreigners. We experienced the identical realization in Beijing on our way out of the country December 26.

We really do admire the professional staff of flight attendants on Asian flights…it reminds us of the old Pan Am airlines from America-past. Every is dressed alike and are very helpful professions. They showed no noticeable affects from staying awake for over 14 hours of over-night travel while constantly helping the passengers.

Since I upgraded my Dell laptop computer on this trip, I was without an internet connection for the first five days…the university has to configure the IP address so they can ‘talk’ to each other and no one was on campus and back to work until Monday. It made the weekend long, and difficult not being able to fully communicate to the family that we had arrived ’safe and sound.’

We have definitely learned patience here. When I was without internet connections last year when we first came, I was pretty upset, figuring that it was provided as part of my salary and “it better be fixed now.” Now I know it takes a few days, but is usually handled in a professional way.

Keven gave Terry a textbook for one of her classes last night, the day before classes begin. It means she will have three lesson plans per week instead of the expected two. Again, we just smiled and said ‘thank you’ and moved forward.

I experienced first-hand the expense of having to pay the car rental companies for daily insurance, since we no longer own a car and are not paying monthly automobile insurance for the first time in our life. It added around $40 per day to the cost of rental.

It was disappointing that I was not barely part of the 111.3 million who watched the Super Bowl, the largest-ever watched TV show in American history. I was able to see some of the second quarter while in the Phoenix airport on the way between San Antonio and San Francisco, but did catch many replays while visiting Michael, Adona, and Louise in Danville.

Terry, Eric, Wendy and the children took part in an Asian Culture Fair in San Antonio….experienced some of the things they will see when they come to China in August.

We just got back from the back-gate market. Found the fresh vegetables and fruits to be plenteous, though everything was very cold due to the outdoor temperature.

Keven called and made an appointment for a journalist and photographer to spend time with us in our apartment….she wanted to talk about Valentine’s Day customs in the two countries….asked lots of questions about how we met, what Americans do with gifts, etc., during this special holiday. Claire, the lady journalist, was very professional and thorough, and the two young men took care of the photos. She works for the Chutian Metropolis Daily, part of the Hubei Daily Media Group. (We were promised we would see the article when it published and they also are going to share some of the pictures by email attachment).

On our second day back, Howard and his family wanted to treated us to a delicious dinner at a local restaurant. He stopped by for a long visit, and it was good to see him. We had to take a rain-check on the meal, due to TJ developing a persistent cough and the return of cold-like conditions she had in Texas during the final days in America.

Our Sister/friend Sophia (a messenger from heaven) took us to the local hospital to have blood work. Everything went smoothly…I am checking my blood-sugar level and they do have an A1C test here…while Terry is checking her liver to make sure it is OK for continuing her traditional Chinese medicine treatment for Vitiligro (she has a progress report on that effort, and I will let her give it). It took a few minutes to work through the different medical terms between the countries, but they found what they needed for me to move forward. We picked up the results the same afternoon.

The charge to see the doctor? $2.25 (USA). The blood work was 100 yuan each ($16). We now have a hospital card with our vital statistics on it for quick informational purposes, when/if we need to go back. We should get reimbursed for these fees through the medical insurance provided by the school contract, though we know it will take a while for the process to be completed.

I also found metformin again at the pharmacy: 40 yuan ($6.25) for 960 tablets….I take four, two times a day, so it is hard to beat the price! 🙂

We are also making plans to find a dentist to get our teeth cleaned regularly, while I also am going to have a crown and, hopefully, some whitening treatments.

We have two new stores outside our front gate…new decorations and paint, replacing much older establishments. It is slowly becoming brand new…some progress is great, but one of the older grocery stores is much missed by many of us.

Ed Mosby just paid a visit…a good man doing a great work! And a new English teacher is here ready to teach classrooms of students Oral English and Good News….we had a schedule conflict and missed a meal with others here and will meet Jessica another time.

Our first Sunday morning discussion with the teachers was pre-empted by a faculty meeting, but they are committed to our weekly sessions….we are going to study Mark’s story of the Master…will have two groups with a total of seven, so far, but we are surprised with new students often.

We have realized that we’ll likely be able to spend some time in Washington and Arkansas with family next year on our winter break, since we will not be visiting Eric and the family in Texas (remember, they are coming to China to teach Oral English in August).

Let me highly recommend Cathay Pacific for travel to China. It’s the second time we’ve entered this way, and they are top-notch! In-flight movies and great food…here is their customer commitment: Our vision is to be the world’s best airline. Being the best means we always strive to excel in everything we do. Our dynamic team provides the highest quality of service so that you are happy you chose Cathay Pacific. Our mission is to put safety first, provide outstanding products and services and deliver service straight from the heart. Cathay Pacific aircraft depart more than 138,000 times each year, serving more than 26 million customers in 142 destinations in 39 countries.

The Chinese are coming. And the U.S. travel industry couldn’t be happier. Eager to spend their growing disposable income, travelers from mainland China’s wealthy and rising middle classes are traversing the globe in search of iconic destinations they can cross off their bucket lists.

That wanderlust has increasingly brought them to a dream destination, the USA, in recent years as travel restrictions on them eased. Despite occasional economic and political dust-ups between the two nations’ governments, a record number of Chinese visitors came to the U.S. in 2011.

Steps announced last month by President Obama to speed up visas for them should result in even more Chinese arrivals, further unlocking a huge source of income that the U.S. travel industry and retail business sector have long coveted.

So huge is the Chinese travel market potential that major U.S. travel suppliers — including hotels and airlines, as well as major cities and even shopping malls — are sending sales representatives to China. They’re educating tour operators in Chinese cities that few Americans have heard of. And hotels in this country are now serving rice porridge for breakfast and seeking Mandarin Chinese speakers to handle the phones and check-in desks.

“It’s astonishing,” says Fred Dixon, NYC & Company’s senior vice president of tourism & convention development. “It’s one of the powerhouse markets.”

Indicative of the growth and potential: In the first 10 months of 2011, visits from mainland Chinese rose 36% year-over-year to 940,000, according to the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Chinese visitors’ spending in the U.S. shot up 39% in 2010 to $5 billion, a growth rate that outpaced visitors from all other countries who have been traditionally high spenders here. That spending put the Chinese in seventh place among foreign visitors, overtaking France.

“U.S. travel and tourism exports to China have increased by at least 30% in six of the last seven years,” the trade administration’s 2010 report says. “U.S. travel and tourism exports account for 24% of all U.S. services exports to China.” But the current visitation figures matter less in the eyes of travel marketers than the sheer potential the Chinese market promises.

About 70 million Chinese crossed their border in 2011, spending $69 billion, according to China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, a Germany-based research firm. And they’ve just begun.