I found out that Friday's classes were canceled. Instead, this was the first day and Opening Ceremonies of the SWFU Sports Festival. The sports meet is a huge deal in China, three days of track and field extravaganza. I was asked what I did for Sports Meet in America. I told my astonished colleagues that we don't have such a festival. Everyone participates, or at least attends. Mrs. Jiang of the Foreign Languages Dept. showed up to my Thursday class with a sleek black track suit (my students told me it's a famous Chinese brand, and very cool); all of us in the department would be wearing matching uniforms in the meet. Thursday afternoon was spent practicing our marching, learning where to stand, and when to wave the little green flag. Every department from the college was practicing in a different area: students, teachers, staff, administration.

On the big day, we all lined up at 7:50 a.m. outside the soccer stadium. I was the only foreigner in the ceremony. Some march music played over the loudspeakers. It was just one song that played over and over the entire three days. It was something I never heard before, but will recognize for the rest of my life. We marched a lap around the track, chanting "Yi, er, san, si (one, two, three, four)," trying to keep in step. This is where my four years of high school marching band practice came in handy. However, the department seems to be full of nonconformists (a good place for me!), as I heard many people counting off in English, and even one guy in Japanese. We also chanted, "Jia you!" which means, "Let's go!" I looked this up in the dictionary to find out the Chinese characters, and this term can literally mean, "Add oil," or more loosely, "Fill'er up!" People also say "jia you" at the gas station, but imagine it's said less enthusiastically.

After the circuit, we marched to the center of the field and faced the stands. There were a few hundred in the field, and the bleachers were packed. The crowd went wild. People pounded on big drums and blew through noise makers. There were some obligatory speeches made by some of the "big cheeses," or "top bananas" as my Chinese colleagues like to say. Then we did an about-face and watched some military people raise the Stars-&-Stripes, er, 5-Stars-Red-Flag. The Chinese national anthem, "March of the Volunteers," was playing. Out of habit and respect, I put my right hand on my heart as we do in the US. Then I noticed that no one else was doing this. However, some people standing near me saw this and quickly placed their right hands on their hearts as well.

The Chinese flag is not as prominent in China as the American flag is in the US. It is found in front of government buildings and schools (I don't believe it's lowered at night), usually accompanied by pastel-colored flags on either side. I have yet to find out what these other flags signify...they are just solid colors. I have never seen a flag for Yunnan Province or Kunming City. My university has a flag, but I have seen it very rarely.

Then the festivities began. I wouldn't be participating until the next day, so I watched a few events then headed home. I needed to get caught up on grading papers. Friday night, I met a former teacher of this school, an Australian who sold his house and is hanging out in Dali, writing a book. We went to the Camel Bar (expat hangout, and I've heard a 24-hour bar) and had a Western meal with four Americans, three Chinese, and an Australian. Of course, the inevitable question comes up: "Why did you come to China?" Some people here, many people I know, "just bailed." Usually the people that say this to me are in their 50s, single or recently divorced and sick of life in the US. Coming to China is a chance to start over. Some people are searching for something, and China is often a pretty exotic place...if you're bored here, it's your own fault. So in the midst of Chinese life, something is bound to to be found. Other people are secretly missionaries.

Why did I come to China? Well, right now is a great moment in history, and this my chance to be a part of it. What is happening in China has never happened before--at times the entire country seems like a giant construction site. Development is occurring on insanely fast scale. In four months, in my neighborhood, I have seen buildings--entire apartment complexes--go up. People are working from before dawn to well after dusk. In many ways, this is a Renaissance that will probably dwarf the Italian Renaissance, but no one knows what will happen. China isn't just emerging, it's re-emerging. Remember, this is a great civilization--one of the oldest in the world, and the people are very aware of their history. It is commonly believed that the almost all significant inventions were created in the Western world. However, this is not true. The Chinese are the people who invented or discovered magnets, movable type (printing), paper, gunpowder, compasses, wheelbarrows, row planting, parachutes, paper currency, and toilet paper. There is a great optimism here, an optimism usually associated with Americans.

This development is very interesting because it's not happening in neat squares: it's growing organically. Take my block, for example. I see third-world poverty, open sewers, horse-drawn carts. But on the end of my block, 50 meters away, there is a Land Rover and Jaguar dealership. I have been in the nicest restaurants of my life maybe ten minutes away. Downtown, I have even seen a Maserati dealership. And Kunming is not considered a "developed" city by any stretch of the imagination. There is a great and growing disparity between the extremely rich and the extremely poor, something causing great tension in society, something that the government is trying hard to alleviate by developing the western and rural regions. However, this is a difficult task. There are 1.3 billion people here. The US, the third most populous country in the world, has 9 cities with a population over 1 million; China has 100. Kunming, at 3.5 million, is a medium-sized Chinese city. Have you heard of Chengdu or Tianjin or Chongqing? They are each larger than New York.

But I digress. I have always been interested in China. When I was 20, I made it a goal to learn Mandarin, and now that goal is coming true. So, in short, I was curious and I came to check it out, and I am glad that I did. Soon China will be the world's number one tourist destination. Please come check it out before everyone else does. The food is great, by the way.

Back to my first Sports Festival. Saturday morning came around, and it was time for me to take part in the 4x100 meter relay. I would be running with some other English faculty (the under-35 age group) against six other departments. Our team practiced our handoffs, and I did a couple quick sprints that even impressed myself. However, we are above 6000 feet, and I am not used to running. It became very difficult to breathe, especially toward the end of my turn. We were already behind, and I didn't help. We came in fourth place for our heat. However, it was all in fun. My boss told me, "You run like a tiger!" and also proceeded to ask me questions about the non-existent American sports day, and then cheerleaders.

I watched a few other events: hurdles, shot put, javelin, 800m races, etc. and went home to take a nap. After this, I biked downtown to treat myself to some coffee and doughnuts (I found a Chinese-owned Dona Doughnut shop). As you are probably aware of now, there seems to be no traffic laws in China, so bicycling is not simply a recreational activity. It requires full concentration, a clear mind, and a tai chi-like form of negotiation. People drive cars like they are on bicycles. I stole a joke from someone, and my classes thought it very funny: "In the US, we drive on the right side of the road. In Japan, they drive on the left side. In China, people drive on *both* sides! " It's pretty true. Usually, there are off-road paved bike lanes, so I'm not worried about cars but negotiating with the thousands of cyclists. It is a form of dancing.

I was thinking about stop signs. In the US, of course, they say, "Stop." In Spain, they also say "Stop." In Morocco, they say "Qefa," and the writing looks like two people sledding on a toboggan. In Mexico, they say, "Alto." In Japan, they say "Tomare." I was trying to think of what they say in China. Then I realized I have never seen a stop sign in China! I have seen plenty of stoplights, but absent of these, it's just an open intersection. Then, on Saturday, I saw my first stop sign. It was on a side road that ran parallel with a canal. There was little, if any traffic on it, a very residential street. Up a small slope was a railroad crossing. At the crossing was a diminutive sign, but the familiar red-octagonal shape. It said, "停"/ting. I will go back to take a picture of the first Chinese stop sign I have seen in almost four months.

At Dona Doughnuts, I had some delicious pastries and sat in the first "No Smoking" section I have seen in China. This has got to be one of the most smoker-friendly countries in the world. The Chinese are 20% of the world's population, yet smoke 30% of the world's cigarettes. It's mostly the men who do the smoking. A man entering a bar or restaurant will, before even sitting down, first pull out his pack of cigarettes and pass it around to his companions. I am offered at least one cigarette each day, usually more. I always decline, but people often look confused. I have seen some Vietnamese students smoking in the classrooms during breaks and many people smoke in the school hallways and offices. If I have a guest in my apartment, no one asks whether it's ok to light up...they just ask me where the ashtray is. In some rural areas, I'm told, over 90% of the men smoke. However, the percentage of Chinese women who smoke is much less than the percentage of American women who smoke. So I saw this "No Smoking" section sign and thought it was a joke, especially when a guy in his 20s sat down and lit up. But sure enough, an employee came by and told him to put it out. He held it under the table while he finished it.

One time my dad asked me about Chinese gas stations--if they are similar to American gas stations. I had never been inside one. There is one at the end of my block, with a traditional Chinese sloped-roof over the station and the filling island. I decided to check it out. It was much smaller than a 7-11. There was some engine oil for sale, but no funnels. There were some soft drinks for sale (no soda fountains), but no coffee. You could buy bottled tea, but there were nothing cold (no coolers). You could buy some salty snacks such as the ubiquitous sunflower seeds, potato chips, etc., but no chocolate. Of course, as anywhere, cigarettes were available, but no beer. There were some interior auto accessories that people like to hang from their rear-view mirrors: red Chinese knots that say "fortune" at the bottom, in a locked display case, some gold Buddhas that people put on their dashboards for protection, some very expensive glass thermoses. There was also some shampoo for sale, dish soap, and floor mops. This is the Sinopec gas station in Bailong (White Dragon) Village.

I also went to my first Chinese Christmas party on Wednesday night. It was organized by the undergraduate English majors. It was held in a classroom with a small Christmas tree, some streamers and balloons, some ornate Christmas designs on the chalkboard, and many Chinese students eager to celebrate Christmas with foreigners. So of course, I was obligated to come. We played musical chairs, had a gift exchange (I got a Santa hat), and of course the foreigners had to sing some Christmas carols for the students. There were a lot of oranges, bananas, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. A French girl who is on an intensive Chinese course at Yunnan University also showed up. She sang a beautiful Spanish song. A Chinese student sang an English pop song. Then it was time go.

Last night I gave my first guest lecture. I talked about the Great American Road Trip, and the allure of the open road. I had some technical difficulties in the presentation. First, the room that was reserved was taken, then my music and video files wouldn't work. But all in all, it went pretty well. The students were mostly English majors, and the room was packed, and overflowed into the hallway. They were most astonished when I told them that my family has five cars. "Wow, you are rich!" one student said. Then I told them that this is pretty typical for Americans--one car per person. In China, only 5% of the population can afford a car, and being middle-class is owning a scooter. If the family is fortunate enough, they will have a car. Of course, this is changing very rapidly, and already Kunming has a bad traffic problem. However, as an American, I always find it strange that there are so few cars on my college campus...maybe a total of 11 at any given time for a campus population of 10,000.

Yesterday, I went to a meeting in the Foreign Affairs Office. We four foreign teachers were told that we will be moving tomorrow to the new building on campus. Initially, I was hesitant on moving at the end of the semester...there is too much going on, and the building was rumored to not be ready. But as my boss outlined it, everything seems to be very organized. We were asked to have three students show up on Saturday at our old place, and load everything into a waiting truck. The truck will take everything up to new building, and we can put it on the newly-operational elevators. There is no furniture to move, so it should be a lot less painful than past moves.

We were also told that we would be getting paid for the months of January and February in advance. I was told that there is an extra DVD player they forgot to put in my old apartment, and it would be installed in my new one. I may be getting a cellphone from the college. And then they gave me 300 yuan for the bike I purchased (I just have to leave it here when I go back to the US). So I was very happy. Then they gave us a tour of the new building, which I haven't been in yet.

We will be living on the 9th floor, the top floor, which overlooks the entire city of Kunming. The view is great. The main floor of the building will is a giant lobby with an enormous chandelier and marble hotel desk (and clocks indicating the time in Beijing, New York, Tokyo, London, and Moscow). There also will be a restaurant soon. The bottom six floors are dorm rooms for freshman girls. The top three floors, inaccessible from the rest of the building without a key, are hotel rooms and apartments for the "foreign experts." Then I saw our new homes.

This is by far the nicest place apartment I will have lived in: 40 square meters, all wood floors, big windows, two balconies, a large, open, fully-furnished kitchen, all brand new furniture, leather sofas and chairs in the living room, classy wooden chairs and desks in the bedroom, a swanky shower (no curtain needed--all enclosed by glass), and a 27 inch television. I told my boss this was too nice for me. Even by--especially by--American standards, this is luxurious. I asked for the west side of building, hoping to take in the night view of the city on either of my balconies. I'll take some pictures tomorrow during the move.

This morning I saw my cleaning lady, and even she seemed excited about it. She said (in Chinese--she doesn't speak any English)--"It's beautiful. You must be so happy, so happy!" Yuka will be here in less than three weeks--I think she will be really excited. Now I just received a call from the Foreign Affairs office, and my January paycheck is here, so I can pick that up a full two weeks early. I'm off.

This is a fortunate way to end 2006. 圣诞快乐！(Merry Christmas, all!)