I can count my remaining days on one hand. I find I’m checking off an unofficial list of lasts: my last Wednesday to teach, my last time to see Rosely, my last bike ride along the Yu Long River, etc. In with the excitement of returning home, I’m already recognizing the nostalgia I will have for China. This has been an incredible experience. I feel so grateful to the people who made it possible, people here and people at home.

I expect this is my final posting. Another one of those “lasts.” The photos are ones that haven’t fit in other postings but I can’t let them, or the memory attached to them, go.

On one of the streets through FuLi, I pass this clock shop. It’s in the older part of FuLi. And always surprises me. I have seen no other shop like it. It has something of a European feel to me, and yet it is purely China.

The students at this FuLi preschool, like so many little ones here, often greet me. In September they were prone to shout, “Hellobye-bye,” as one word many, many times. Now it’s, “Hello,” many, many times and then eventually, “Bye-bye,” many, many times!

One morning in April, I was walking toward the boat following this group of women who were seeing their children to school. The man on the right is sweeping the area in front of his store, something he or his wife does every morning. The tree above him smelled heavenly. The morning had such a peaceful feeling.

Last fall sitting at my desk in the teachers' workroom at DuTou I observed the kindergarten students at play. Through the door I watched them run and jump into the long jump pit. Their teacher supervised from the edge of the pit. The thirsty ones drank from the faucets on the back wall while they waited their turns…or maybe they just played in the water. The air was hot and full of the children’s little voices.

In the fall and winter, this ehru player sometimes stationed himself at the dock gazebo. One of the first times, he showed me his American dollar tips and I traded his dollars and dime for Chinese yuan. American dollars were worthless to him. I haven’t seen him since February. There were four funerals in FuLi in April, two on his street. But I’m hoping he is visiting family and will return to the gazebo with his erhu.

This rafter was on the Li River. He’s a fisherman who uses cormorants to catch fish. The birds have rings around their necks so that when they catch a large fish they are unable to swallow it. The fisherman then takes the fish whole from the bird’s mouth. Yum.

If you pedal far enough north along the Yu Long River, you reach Dragon Bridge. It’s a famous destination. A very nice ride. The bridge is made of stone and 700 years old. The view from the bridge is nice. The view of the bridge and its reflection is also nice, and something you don’t see on every trip.

Sometimes instead of walking to the downtown bus station in Yangshuo, I walk through this tunnel and catch the bus at a corner on the other side. One morning last winter, the sun was rising as I headed toward the tunnel.

When I decided to come to China for 5 months back in 2006, I had no idea I would still be here today. I’ve been so fortunate to be able to follow this path, a path that is taking me home now. So for now I’ll continue to experience all the “lasts” for this time in Yangshuo as I look forward to being home.

Last weekend it rained. I rented a bike hoping to cycle around the countryside both days. Saturday I was drenched on both attempts and Sunday it rained steady enough that I made no attempts.

After all that weekend rain, I wasn’t too surprised at the size of the Li River Monday morning. It was the widest it has been at the DuTou crossing. Looking back at FuLi from DuTou, the river was a churning expanse of brown water. The steps to the boat landing were covered. The boats now docked on an equal plane with the gazebo. By the afternoon crossing, we could not disembark at the normal landing. Instead we were left off at a bank to the left.

Wednesday was a once-in-four-years large celebration in FuLi. So between my morning class and my afternoon class, I went back to FuLi to check it out. What I found was an arena where twelve groups performed their rehearsed songs, dances or skits. I met up with DuoDuo and a trio of Norwegian coeds who had already acquired “special guests” status so I caught the last few acts from the judging stage. Then we were taken to lunch by the photographers who were swarming the place.

Thursday morning these foods were being sold at the entrance to the large covered market in downtown Yangshuo. In the front are the greens that are always available for stir fry. Next to them are the peaches that are in season now. We eat them a bit greener here. And behind the peaches are small melons that we eat like an apple: skin, flesh and seeds in a juicy bite. And at the very back are the pumpkin flowers that are cooked in soup or sometimes stuffed. The pumpkin vine is even more common than the flower as a stir fry vegetable.

Thursday afternoon two young men came out to DuTou to film a piece about volunteer teaching. They were working for a Yangshuo TV channel or a Guangxi TV channel….we’re not exactly sure which. Nice guys. We had fun with the filming, but we were all a bit nervous too. It’s a little discerning to have a cameraman following you and asking you to repeat a movement!

Thursday night it poured ALL night! School was canceled Friday. I’m sure the Li River at DuTou was hen da (very big)! Still I was unbelieving when I heard the main streets of Yangshuo were flooded. Unbelieving that is until an Owen College student showed me his photos Friday evening. Saturday morning when I finally made it downtown the streets were already dry or drying, but the flood damage was evident as shopkeepers started putting their worlds back together.

In Yangshuo the Li River was indeed da (big). Here the boats, normally at least 15 to 20 feet lower, floated at street level. The place where we have barbecued was covered.

We’re waiting to see if the rainy season is over. We haven't had rain for two days now.

This street in the old part of FuLi is quite narrow. I generally walk through it each morning on my way to the boat that takes me to DuTou.

However last Thursday morning I was not walking. Roger, an Owen College student, was with me. He was coming along to be my assistant. We had a watermelon we were carrying and the day was sizing up to be another hot one, so we grabbed a red motorbike wagon….another form of san lun che.

Thursday was market day in FuLi so plenty of people were expected to pass through this street in these vehicles. That’s the only reason I have for why six, or maybe seven, san lun che happened to be in this same spot at the same time.

There really isn’t room for two vehicles to pass each other. But slowly and carefully we inched by and the impossible was accomplished. Think these drivers might have done this before!

We were stuck here only long enough to jump out and take photos. Not long. But still the idea of a traffic jam in FuLi.......

Children’s Day was June 1. The schools celebrated it on Friday, May 30. At DuTou, where I now spend all my teaching time and efforts, the students began to gather on the playground at 9:30.
They carried their chairs or benches from their classrooms to the designated area and soon were settled in an orderly fashion.

Then it began to rain. Only a few sprinkles. But some students went to get their umbrellas.

It continued to rain. And now it was a bit more of a drizzle, so the students were told to take their seats back to their classrooms. The recitations were postponed. The day’s festivities would begin with the games. The students cheered. Imagine that.

For......
hooking a fish.....

kicking a ball between the legs of a bench...

throwing a ping pong ball into a basket....

picking up wet marbles with chopsticks...

throwing a baseball through this hole...

tossing a ring onto a beer bottle...


....you got piece of candy.
And though it continued to rain, I don’t think anyone minded.

On Sunday, the actual Children’s Day, there were performances at 99 Supermarket in the center of Yangshuo. LanLan, the 4 year old daughter of my Chinese teacher, performed. She introduced herself in English: My name is LanLan. I am 4 years old. My father is a teacher. My mother is a tour guide. Then she recited a poem about apples. In English. I was impressed. You can see her proud parents watching her just behind the speaker on the right.