If you are looking for news on this year's Christmas activities, you'll have to wait until next week. We do have some fun things planned. I'll share them in the next posting. This posting is about news of a different sort.
During the first week of December I was interviewed by a reporter from the Guilin Evening News. I don't know how he found me out in little DuTou. The trip from Guilin to the village of DuTou is a bit of a jaunt. In fact, one of the first things he wanted to know was how I found DuTou! He spoke to me through a translator, took some notes and some pictures(the one he used is one he asked me to pose for)and after an hour or so went back to Guilin.
The article came out in the December 12 issue of the paper. That morning Peter, the principal of DuTou, received a call from a friend in Yangshuo telling us to get a paper. So, that evening I picked up one at a Yangshuo news stand. There was the story in part 5 just as we had been told.

It took me over a week to find out what the article says. I was surprised because much of what is reported did not come from me. Perhaps Peter and Luke gave the information to the reporter, although they are not quoted so I'm not sure of this.
The article seems to be about English teachers with me as an example. It mentions my different nose and eyes, how I came to China after retiring, describes some of the methods generally used, how pronuniation is helped by having foreign English teachers and how the teachers and the students enjoy the classes. It also talks about my schedule and how VET, Owen College and the Education Department support volunteer work.
Not many village schools have foreign teachers. That must be why the paper wanted to do this story.

These coins are from the Qing Dynasty which means they were minted between 1644 and 1911. The Manchu ruled China during this, the last, dynasty. So, one side of the coin is in Manchu and one side is in Chinese characters.

You find these coins on tables, on carts and in shops where tourists frequent. They are with the scarves, the cricket cages, the jade, the little red books of Mao's Quotations, the T-shirts, the combs, and anything else a tourist might, or might not, want. You even find them on the Internet.

I've heard different reasons for the square hole. I read the coins were made on a square rod which allowed many coins to be made at once and allowed the rough edges of the coins to be smoothed before the rods were removed.
Some people say ten or twenty coins were tied together on a string. You could then easily purchase items for the string amount. Others say, since clothing didn't have pockets, the hole was there so coins could be strung together and carried on your wrist.

The round outer edge and the square hole came to represent the sky and the four corners of the earth. Or mobility and stability, flexibility and strength. I was once told by a university student that the round edge reminds us we must be round on the outside so we do not clash in our dealings with people. But, we must be like the square on the inside so we don't forget who we are and the values we hold.
I liked that.

And here is something else I liked....a Zen proverb my brother Randy sent me. It gave us both a good chuckle.

Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions.
If you understand, things are just as they are.
If you do not understand, things are just as they are.

Days of the month with 2, 5, or 8 in their number(ie - 2, 15, 28) are market days in FuLi. People from the countryside come into FuLi to buy, sell, and visit. So on market days the dock at DuTou is very busy. When we come to school at 8:30, the country people are already headed into FuLi. One market day I came to school at 9:30 and was amazed at the number of people getting on and off the boats.

These three wheeled trucks (san lun che) cart the country people and their wares to the dock area in DuTou. Passengers sit in the cab and in the back. Their wares are also in the back or on the roof of the cab. The trucks are parked under the bamboo once everyone has left for the boats. The market goers will return to the trucks in a few hours.

You want to look your best when you go to market, so before getting on the boats, some of the males get a shave or a haircut. This man giving a young boy a haircut works beside the building at the top of the steps while another man works midway down the steps, you may have spotted him in the first picture.

The boats are very busy on market days. More boats are at the crossing to handle the increase in traffic. I like market days. I am going in the opposite direction of the market goers so am not on the packed boats. And the increase in traffic means the time we wait on the boats is not long.

I've seen 40and 50 followed by the character for "ren" (people) on the side of some boats. Doesn't look like anyone is counting how many people are allowed on. The boats look filled to the brim. And when they empty at the dock, there is a steady stream disembarking.

On market mornings as I walk through the streets of FuLi toward the boat that will take me to DuTou, I pass more people carrying loads of goods. They are going to market with their baskets full of vegetables, fruits, or chickens; bags of rice; large plastic containers of oil, vinegar or other liquids; bundles of tobacco or noodles; stacks of bamboo baskets...the list is endless.

Everyone is headed to this site in the center of FuLi. It is in use every day but becomes a real hub of activity on days of the month with the magical 2, 5, or 8 in their numbering.

This egg vendor was in her place early this day. What's that about the early bird?

The vegetable vendors line up on the back side of market place. They are always there. But on market days they swell in number from two rows to rows and rows that cover the basketball court.
See the white corner of a building behind the vegetable vendors? I have spent several weeks looking for a supermarket in FuLi. I was sure there must be one. FuLi is a fair sized town. "The" market didn't seem enough. Then this week I remembered my friend Susan and I looking for a temple in Beijing only to learn it had been behind our backs the day we gave up our search and sat relaxing in a park. I have walked through this market many times but when I looked for the supermarket, I didn't look here. Until this week. And there it is!

When I leave DuTou at 1:00, the boats coming back from FuLi are full of returning shoppers. They're heading home with their purchases in hand, on their backs, or slung over shoulders. The river will be quieter for the next two or three days. And then it will be market day once again in FuLi.