A Week in Wuwei
February 6th, 2018
Guest blog by Michael Mades (my dad)
The work of a Peace Corps Volunteer exists in corners of the world that most of us never have the opportunity to discover. Right now, halfway around the world, a group of young (and a few older) Americans are working to improve the lives of college students in China. I feel fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to get a first-hand glimpse of the daily life and work of a volunteer, my son, for a week. It is those glimpses that I wish to share during this guest blog.
Since my son is assigned to a college in the city of Wuwei in northwestern China, my journey was one of planes, trains and automobiles; my travel time was over 40 hours and included three flights, two train rides, and four car rides.
My first glimpse occurred when I landed in Lanzhou, the city with the closest and most accessible airport to Wuwei. As I navigated the airport to pick up my bags, I quickly realized that many aspects of my American lifestyle were now non-existent. You see, in northwestern China, there are very few people who speak fluent English; in fact, I think I can count the number of fluent English speakers whom I met on two hands. And, there was very little signage in English, making me essentially illiterate! I thought about my son and many of the other volunteers, and how challenging, overwhelming, and maybe even frightening, it must have been to graduate from college in America, and then three months later being immersed into a new culture, community and country.
Trying a local egg, milk and rice specialty in a Lanzhou night market - made fresh to order!
The people whom I met in Wuwei are absolutely wonderful, and my interactions with them are among the highlights of my journey. Among those are my son’s host family. I had several visits with them, during which they introduced me the Chinese meal of hot pot, and another meal of noodles. They taught me the correct way to drink tea which, by the way, is served at almost every meal in a restaurant. They gave tours of the city, and answered what must have seemed like endless questions about life in China. I met another teacher from the college who has become my son’s friend. She introduced me to lamb, and taught me an easier way to eat with chopsticks (Yes-no forks in this city!). There was also the gentleman we met while walking down the street. Since they seldom get international visitors in Wuwei, the gentleman stopped to talk with us on street. Turns out his daughter is going to college in the US, and is son is in the US working for the same company that funds my work. Suddenly, the world got smaller.
Dinner with Isaac's Wuwei host family! Hotpot, noodles, all the best foods were shared with me by some of the best people.
Distilling the nightly batch of water
One of my biggest surprises has to do with water. You see, in China, the tap water is not drinkable. In my son’s apartment, he distills a gallon of water each night to remove impurities to make the water suitable for drinking and cooking. And, when we needed hot water, we boiled it in an electric kettle. Cold water was a rarity, and when we asked for water in a restaurant, we were given glasses of hot water! Even in public, there were no cold water drinking fountains, but many hot water dispensers. Even on the trains, hot water was provided, and riders used it to make tea or noodles, or just drank it hot.
Handmade, hand cut specialty noodles for dinner!
Finally, I think it is important to share how hard working the people of Wuwei are. Despite being a city of almost two million people, there are many traditional markets and craftsmanship. In the freezing cold, day after day, men and women work their stands, roasting and grinding grains and nuts, repairing bicycles, butchering meat, making breads and traditional foods, selling wares, sweeping sidewalks, and much more. They get up early, transport their wares in a cart or on a scooter, and are kind and helpful. They were often surprised to find my son speaks Chinese (though perhaps not that well, he’ll admit), and had many questions about where we were from and why are we in Wuwei.
Friends gathered on the streets to chat and play games...
... or to sell a few wares, make keys or fix your bike
And so, it occurs to me that this is the goal of a Peace Corps Volunteer-to make the world a better place by helping others, understanding other cultures, and sharing what life is like in the United States, even as I am able to share my experience in China here with you all, too.
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