Eileen St. Louis

Highlights from the Christmas Party 2008 at Hainan FLV College.

No Plastic Trees PLEASE. a collection of Christmas paraphernalia from Hainan.

I grew up across the street from a synagogue. Every Saturday the street was crowded with station wagons. Sometimes, my parents couldn't even get out of the drive way. They cursed these Jews who thought they owned the street. But they cursed a lot of people in Brooklyn who thought they owned the street. The Italians. Then the Russians. The Cops. I grew to be tolerant of a lot of religions. Some of them felt less religious than others. Especially the one where girls in uniform hiked up their green plaid skirts higher and unbuttoned their white shirts a notch or two after school. There was no detection of religion in my home. Unless you counted Dad's reverence for playing mahjong and smoking with his friends. My mother thought it was all nonsense. I searched for benevolent gods. I wished on stars like Pinocchio taught me. When I grew up, I found wisdom and kindness in the people I met. That is where my spirituality lies.

I found this kid playing with broken glass like it was the most safest thing in the world. He had picked up a large shard and placed it between two bricks like he was going to practice kung fu on it. On top of that he had no shoes. As I tried to tell him this was not the right way to play, he scowled and continued to walk around barefoot ignoring my pleas that the glass was sharp. Eventually some passerbys stopped to watch until one man decided to talk some sense into this kid and found his shoes. Rickshaw drivers and delivery men often wear neat dark grey or navy blue blazers. In China, buses on 1-hour or more trips include bottled water. Recycling is done mainly by old hands. The elderly pick through trash and smash their findings under their feet to make room in their bags for more bottles. You find plastic used everywhere in every way. If it can be made from plastic then it is also cheap and replaceable. The cafes are filled with bright pink plastic chairs. Hainan farmi...

I got a terrible email from my Mom a few days ago. Uncle David and Aunt Daphne in a car accident. David okay, but Daphne needing lots of surgeries. I am really far away from my family now and feel I can do little but wait for news. So far, I have only heard that everything is okay. This vague answer is what will have to suffice until I get some details of what happened and how severe the injuries. After losing an older cousin suddenly years ago in a fatal car crash, I am very glad that my aunt and uncle are alive. Aunt Daphne may only need hand rehabilitation. Mom flew to Arizona to see them, so I know they are in the best hands.

English Club members invited us Foreign teachers to make "jiao zhi" or dumplings, a very traditional and common food in China. You can make all kinds of fillings and dumpling shapes. They are really easy to make. This filling includes pork, scallions, carrots and loads of garlic. As the weather cools, hot jiao zhi soup with scallions is the best antidote. Handmade "northern style" rice noodles with beef and cilantro. Mmmmm.

Fun in the sun in Sanya and Boao beaches, I was able to transfer some neat pics from my mobile phone to my laptop and presto! Below is TeeTee from GuangDong, a former teacher and Hayashi from Japan, a former indie movie producer now here studying Chinese, drawing in the sand after my first early morning bike ride to Beauty Beach. The waves were huge post typhoon but Selena, a volunteer from Finland swam a few laps and even allowed the sea to carry her like a piece of drift wood on its surface from our view on the shore. The only place to get a decent burger is at the five star Waika hotel. Though there are quite a few fast food joints in Wenchang, these burgers are small, not very tasty and almost just as expensive as the one at the hotel. The Chinese in a way like the Japanese but different, enjoy corny/ cute decorations on things- blankets, keychains, this heart in red icing on top of the whipcream of my coffee float. I found this lovely calf and its mom by some rice fields. A li...