Letters from Overseas

November 2008

• The Amity Foundation
  Education Division
  71 Hankou Road
  Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008
  CHINA

Hi, everyone!

Right now I seem to be unable to access any e-mail. I’m not sure why, but I will try again very early tomorrow morning. For the last week or so, it seems to be the only reliable time to access hotmail.

This week has been reasonably routine.

I have enjoyed my classes as usual. The students were very excited to perform a version of Romeo and Juliet, written by another Amity teacher. I will attach a picture. It is actually a tableau that the students prepared especially for this letter. They ask every Monday about what I put in my letter home. They are so pleased that my friends and family are interested in hearing about them. You can see how seriously they took the death of Mercutio! Well, they really worked on their pronunciation.

The death of Mercutio

The word on the street about street sellers is that the government will provide them with a place to sell. So far this has not happened. My students are much more positive about the disappearance of the sellers than I am. They see it as a step toward development. When I ask who will help the people whose livelihood has been taken away, they explain that they can come out in the evening to sell and that they could find other ways of making money. When I pointed out that it is very difficult to get a job, they said they could at least collect plastic bottles from the garbage. They explain that Chinese people will look after this situation themselves, not depend on help from the government or others.

I asked if there was an increase in begging on the streets. This resulted in the assurance to me that most beggars in Lanzhou are fake and the government discourages people from giving them money. In fact, they say that the reason for so many beggars here is that Lanzhou people are too generous and beggars can make too good a living. I wondered if there was a way to help really poor people, perhaps an organization to which money could be donated. They did not know of any such group. They are quite amused by my concern for the poor.

I hope this finds you all well and maybe enjoying a little bit of snow!

Love,
Mary

Mary Fraser is a United Church of Canada Overseas Personnel serving with the Amity Foundation in China. The work of this ecumenical partner and the work of overseas personnel are made possible through your gifts to the Mission and Service Fund of The United Church of Canada.