La Salle Study Centre Changjiao

____________________________________________________________________________________

Greetings fromn LSSC Changjiao. Peace and Joy is within you.

It is already the end of March and I have been back to my post in Changjiao since January 16^th. Our Winter Programme kicked off on Monday 20^th January and ended on Monday 27^th January. Contrary to what we expected, there were not many out-station students rushing back to attend the Winter Programme. Our policy, since last year, of taking in new students only in September has finally paid off. There were only a few new students seeking admission and most were secondary students. As usual, a few of my regular students stayed in to assist me and we also accepted 4 secondary students from the outlying districts to stay with us even though they were not able to assist in teaching. We were a community of 18 staying-in at LSSC and a little over 350 day students in 4 classes during the Winter Programme. Some senior and junior high school students, especially the weaker ones and in particular those who were not students at LSSC when in primary school, chose to attend two classes and a few even attended three classes each day. As usual, we ended on the 27th day of the lunar month, which happened to be Monday 27^th Feb. so that students can return to their ancestral home to help in the Spring cleaning activities in preparation for the Spring Festival 2014 on 31^st Jan.

Last year, we had a small crop of pomelos for sale and most families tasted their first “little extra income from our money trees” from the pomelo planting CD project. This year, I made the decision not to slaughter pigs for distribution of meat as in previous years and the villagers in general were very supportive and accepting of the decision. However, I did slaughter a 14 months old pig, kept most of it frozen for home consumption and gave away some to 6 families in Dabu-Huliao where I often have lunch or dinner as a token of thanks.

This year, the Spring Festival celebration was “low-key” as compared to previous years probably because of the economic downturn and also because of the weather which was colder than usual kept villagers indoors. I left Changjiao for the Senior Brothers Assembly (12^th-16^th Feb) in Manila on 10^th Feb and returned on 19^th Feb. thus I was not in Changjiao for the full 15 days of the Spring Festival holiday … and did not “get fattened” as in previous years where I had to endure an average of 18 lunches and 18 diners in order to “give face” to every family.

Back tracking slightly, when I returned to Changjiao in the middle of January (15^th), I found that the cementing of the hill road project had gone ahead while I was away in Malaysia and except for two short stretches of about 60 meters and one long stretch of about 140 meters the rest had been cemented. Work on the drainage system along the newly cemented road had also started. It was very satisfying to see that the road is taking shape and will serve as the main artery to carry pomelos and other farm products. After the festivities of the Spring Festival which lasted 15 days (20 days for the Hakkas – “U sit mo sit, liao dao nee sip” – Whether I eat or do not eat I will rest till the 20^th day!) we managed to complete the two 60 meters stretches. The last 140 meters stretch is on the infamous road diversion forced upon us last year. We left that stretch to the last as it requires time to settle and harden before we build on it. We are hopeful that it will be completed before the end of May and thus marks LSSC greatest contribution to the development of the hamlet of Baijiang in Changjiao by opening up acres of long abandoned farmland.

After I returned from the Philippines , there was a free weekend as LSSC always resume weekend lessons on the 2^nd weekend after schools re-open. My niece invited her brother and I to Guangzhou to the seaside town of Nansha where she runs a restaurant to taste fresh seafood. We were barely a day at Nansha and we were “kidnapped” by a local to visit Yang Jiang, an industrial town famous for manufacturing knives and steel-based products. It also has an important fishing and an important dried sea food industry as it is on a delta region where tidal waves bring an abundance of shrimps, crabs and fish into the many ponds that trap them when the tides go out.

It was in Yang Jiang that I had my first experience of “one night stand”, “一夜情: yi ye qing” in Chinese. Our local hosts in Yang Jiang drew our attention to a sign that read “If you had not had a one night stand you have not been to Yang Jiang”. I was amused. Our hosts insisted that we should all have “one night stand” later that night. I declined. Later that night they insisted that we must go out for supper and taste their famous “one night stand” which turned out to be a local food delicacy of white rice porridge served with juicy salted fish about 3 inches long, rounded and fully pregnant with fish roe. They had a good laugh at the gag they pulled on me and I had my stomach full of “一夜情: yi ye qing”.

Another interesting experience was as an invited VIP at the annual State Assembly of the Meizhou Government in Meixian 18^th to 20^thFebruary. I was told that in previous years it was a grand affair but this year because of the austerity drive ordered by the Central Government, it was scaled down considerably. Still we were put up in a posh hotel for the occasion and I was lucky that one of the key organizer of the event was the former deputy the education department of Dabu and he looked after me very well as he knew I cannot read Chinese Characters and so he personally accompany me or directed me throughout. I admire their voting which turned out to be unanimous all the time, after a lengthy reading of a report, with many applause in between, lead no less than by the speaker himself/herself.

On Sunday 3^rd Feb. two bus loads of about 60 students and 10 teachers from Jiayin University of Meizhou in Meixian, descended on LSSC. They were just in time to observe a lesson for our 3^rd class of Junior High students and later I also ran a short lesson introductory lesson on our Pinphonics method of reading English for students in China . I joined them for lunch and was invited to give a talk at Jiayin University on any topic I choose and I suggested “心道老师 xindao laoshi” the Heart the Way of a Teacher. I delivered the lecture on Wednesday 26^th March and subsequently some students and teachers volunteered to assist us this summer.

LSSC is still very much in the news as in January I was informed by CCTV Beijing that a few short clips about LSSC had been produced from the many recordings taken in 2013 and will be featured as short fillers in between programmes this year. I have not seen any as I seldom watch TV but have been told by villagers, friends and parents of students that they have seen us on TV this year. I am also featured in a Guangdong Ji Nan University publication by the title “粤侨先锋” Yue Qiao Xian Feng “Pioneers of Guangdong Overseas Chinese” by a黄方生 Huang Jian Feng, writer and calligrapher, as “世界客家好人” Shi Jie Ke Jia Hao Ren廖乐年 “The Good Hakka Man of the world”.

With this little pat on my own back I end this report. Please keep us in your prayers. The low market price of pigs since before Chinese New Year is affecting us badly. The pomelo trees are flowering and we are keeping our fingers crossed, hoping for a bumper crop and the wholesale price is right. Such is life in the village … farming livelihood is at the mercy of unpredictable external circumstances that should and can be controlled.

As always with love from all of us at LSSC Changjiao.

BDLiao

LSSC Changjiao

8^th April 2014

		La Salle Study Centre Changjiao *March 2014 Newsletter*

Home		____________________________________________________________________________________ Greetings fromn LSSC Changjiao. Peace and Joy is within you. It is already the end of March and I have been back to my post in Changjiao since January 16^th. Our Winter Programme kicked off on Monday 20^th January and ended on Monday 27^th January. Contrary to what we expected, there were not many out-station students rushing back to attend the Winter Programme. Our policy, since last year, of taking in new students only in September has finally paid off. There were only a few new students seeking admission and most were secondary students. As usual, a few of my regular students stayed in to assist me and we also accepted 4 secondary students from the outlying districts to stay with us even though they were not able to assist in teaching. We were a community of 18 staying-in at LSSC and a little over 350 day students in 4 classes during the Winter Programme. Some senior and junior high school students, especially the weaker ones and in particular those who were not students at LSSC when in primary school, chose to attend two classes and a few even attended three classes each day. As usual, we ended on the 27th day of the lunar month, which happened to be Monday 27^th Feb. so that students can return to their ancestral home to help in the Spring cleaning activities in preparation for the Spring Festival 2014 on 31^st Jan. Last year, we had a small crop of pomelos for sale and most families tasted their first “little extra income from our money trees” from the pomelo planting CD project. This year, I made the decision not to slaughter pigs for distribution of meat as in previous years and the villagers in general were very supportive and accepting of the decision. However, I did slaughter a 14 months old pig, kept most of it frozen for home consumption and gave away some to 6 families in Dabu-Huliao where I often have lunch or dinner as a token of thanks. This year, the Spring Festival celebration was “low-key” as compared to previous years probably because of the economic downturn and also because of the weather which was colder than usual kept villagers indoors. I left Changjiao for the Senior Brothers Assembly (12^th-16^th Feb) in Manila on 10^th Feb and returned on 19^th Feb. thus I was not in Changjiao for the full 15 days of the Spring Festival holiday … and did not “get fattened” as in previous years where I had to endure an average of 18 lunches and 18 diners in order to “give face” to every family. Back tracking slightly, when I returned to Changjiao in the middle of January (15^th), I found that the cementing of the hill road project had gone ahead while I was away in Malaysia and except for two short stretches of about 60 meters and one long stretch of about 140 meters the rest had been cemented. Work on the drainage system along the newly cemented road had also started. It was very satisfying to see that the road is taking shape and will serve as the main artery to carry pomelos and other farm products. After the festivities of the Spring Festival which lasted 15 days (20 days for the Hakkas – “U sit mo sit, liao dao nee sip” – Whether I eat or do not eat I will rest till the 20^th day!) we managed to complete the two 60 meters stretches. The last 140 meters stretch is on the infamous road diversion forced upon us last year. We left that stretch to the last as it requires time to settle and harden before we build on it. We are hopeful that it will be completed before the end of May and thus marks LSSC greatest contribution to the development of the hamlet of Baijiang in Changjiao by opening up acres of long abandoned farmland. After I returned from the Philippines , there was a free weekend as LSSC always resume weekend lessons on the 2^nd weekend after schools re-open. My niece invited her brother and I to Guangzhou to the seaside town of Nansha where she runs a restaurant to taste fresh seafood. We were barely a day at Nansha and we were “kidnapped” by a local to visit Yang Jiang, an industrial town famous for manufacturing knives and steel-based products. It also has an important fishing and an important dried sea food industry as it is on a delta region where tidal waves bring an abundance of shrimps, crabs and fish into the many ponds that trap them when the tides go out. It was in Yang Jiang that I had my first experience of “one night stand”, “一夜情: yi ye qing” in Chinese. Our local hosts in Yang Jiang drew our attention to a sign that read “If you had not had a one night stand you have not been to Yang Jiang”. I was amused. Our hosts insisted that we should all have “one night stand” later that night. I declined. Later that night they insisted that we must go out for supper and taste their famous “one night stand” which turned out to be a local food delicacy of white rice porridge served with juicy salted fish about 3 inches long, rounded and fully pregnant with fish roe. They had a good laugh at the gag they pulled on me and I had my stomach full of “一夜情: yi ye qing”. Another interesting experience was as an invited VIP at the annual State Assembly of the Meizhou Government in Meixian 18^th to 20^thFebruary. I was told that in previous years it was a grand affair but this year because of the austerity drive ordered by the Central Government, it was scaled down considerably. Still we were put up in a posh hotel for the occasion and I was lucky that one of the key organizer of the event was the former deputy the education department of Dabu and he looked after me very well as he knew I cannot read Chinese Characters and so he personally accompany me or directed me throughout. I admire their voting which turned out to be unanimous all the time, after a lengthy reading of a report, with many applause in between, lead no less than by the speaker himself/herself. On Sunday 3^rd Feb. two bus loads of about 60 students and 10 teachers from Jiayin University of Meizhou in Meixian, descended on LSSC. They were just in time to observe a lesson for our 3^rd class of Junior High students and later I also ran a short lesson introductory lesson on our Pinphonics method of reading English for students in China . I joined them for lunch and was invited to give a talk at Jiayin University on any topic I choose and I suggested “心道老师 xindao laoshi” the Heart the Way of a Teacher. I delivered the lecture on Wednesday 26^th March and subsequently some students and teachers volunteered to assist us this summer. LSSC is still very much in the news as in January I was informed by CCTV Beijing that a few short clips about LSSC had been produced from the many recordings taken in 2013 and will be featured as short fillers in between programmes this year. I have not seen any as I seldom watch TV but have been told by villagers, friends and parents of students that they have seen us on TV this year. I am also featured in a Guangdong Ji Nan University publication by the title “粤侨先锋” Yue Qiao Xian Feng “Pioneers of Guangdong Overseas Chinese” by a黄方生 Huang Jian Feng, writer and calligrapher, as “世界客家好人” Shi Jie Ke Jia Hao Ren廖乐年 “The Good Hakka Man of the world”. With this little pat on my own back I end this report. Please keep us in your prayers. The low market price of pigs since before Chinese New Year is affecting us badly. The pomelo trees are flowering and we are keeping our fingers crossed, hoping for a bumper crop and the wholesale price is right. Such is life in the village … farming livelihood is at the mercy of unpredictable external circumstances that should and can be controlled. As always with love from all of us at LSSC Changjiao. BDLiao LSSC Changjiao 8^th April 2014
Home		All good things must come to an end... ...so that better things may begin!!! Fraser's Hill -1976 - BDLiao