I don for a moment my engineering hat, that I wore for more than fifteen years before hanging it up to become a globe-trotting teacher. Fundamentally, there are 2 types of maintenance: preventive and corrective. Corrective maintenance occurs when a system suffers what is called catastrophic failure. Machines cannot run, buildings cannot be occupied and roads cannot be driven on in that condition. Workers/technicians are deployed to effectuate repairs, and they stay on the job until the system is again safe for use. Preventive maintenance is the periodic care of systems. Daily, weekly, monthly and at greater intervals, aspects of the system are cleaned, inspected and oiled/greased/lubed/tuned. Belts and bearings and other moving parts are checked for wear. If they show any, they are marked for replacement. If failure is imminent, the component is replaced immediately. After that check-up and possibly any needed corrective maintenance found during the preventive maintenance tasks, the machine or system is returned to service. As a cost saving measure, preventive maintenance has a proven track record. The adage 'time is money' applies in any manufacturing concern, and lives could be at stake if the system in question is a building, a bridge, or a road. By comparison, corrective maintenance causes costs to skyrocket! System downtime, possible replacement/rebuilding costs, probably injury to humans. My calculator just reached an error trying to figure it all up. Let us parlay the concept of preventive and corrective maintenance to health care. Annual checkups, mammograms and physicals would fall under preventive, and 'Oh, what a pain I have!' or 'What is that bulge in my abdomen?' would obviously be corrective. Just as systems (and buildings and computers and roads and bridges) require preventive maintenance of select components at certain intervals, so do humans. Women are recommended to a bone density scan after age fifty, to name one. Another would be a colonoscopy after that age, for both men and women. I have not had a physical exam in the 7 years I have been here. I have no idea what my blood pressure is or if I, like my father, suffer from hypertension and high cholesterol (another routine check after age 50 – and I am 4 years past that age). This very minute, I could be incubating a cancer, like everyone in my mother's family succumbed to, including her. Since moving here, I've only been to the doctor for corrective procedures: balancing my thyroid, getting stitches in my head and having X-rays done on my leg. At no time during any of those visits was my blood pressure measured, my temperature taken, my cholesterol checked (high levels is a common side effect of thyroid disease, that can lead to heart attacks) or my weight recorded – all standard health screening procedures used in the west. I think about healthcare in China. Doctors are put upon, overworked, underpaid and under siege – from all of the reports I've read and from what I've witnessed. And, it seems no one here really goes for the preventive care approach so prevalent in the west. From what I gather, healthcare here is all corrective. Perhaps there is no opportunity. After all, with patients far outnumbering doctors and those worthies constantly assailed, maybe the idea of routine patient examination is too far out of the realm of possibility. But on the other hand... Were yearly checkups the norm, doctors might not be under siege by supplicants and their families demanding the unwell be 'repaired'. Perhaps if such conditions that drive people to the hospitals in droves – cancers, heart attacks, respiratory problems and gastrointestinal ills were caught early, they might be treated, easier managed, or prevented altogether before a catastrophic failure sets in. One factor deterring Chinese from seeking routine medical care is shame, according to one study. This applies especially to women, whose reproductive system ills are simply ascribed to the female condition. Money is also a factor. Since the privatization of healthcare in China that started in 1979, many simply cannot afford a doctor until one is desperately needed and, even then, sometimes their funds do not cover needed treatment. At this point, with so many Chinese finding new wealth, the latest craze is medical tourism; America being the prime destination. That country's health care system is touted as the best in the world and I admit: they have preventive care down to a science. However, the American medical system has its flaws, probably the biggest being cost, and insurance to offset it. All attempts to make health care affordable, such as the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 and, more recently, the Affordable Care Act, neither of which necessarily make health care more affordable, are dismal attempts to alleviate people's suffering. What China and America have in common with regard to health care, besides cost, is the referring of patients to specialists or for further tests. In America, it seemed my General Practitioner sent me to another doctor with every visit I paid her. In China, one fee guarantees a consultation with a 'front line' doctor, maybe equivalent to an American GP?, and then patients pay upfront for each further service: X-ray, lab work, or to be seen in the proper clinic for the ill currently being suffered. The end result is the same in both countries: more money, more money, more money. Some of my friends here complain that the 'doctor runaround' and additional care recommendations are solely for the purpose of generating revenue. It certainly seems to be the case, seeing as most every doctor's visit ends with a stint in the 'transfusion room', where patients are to endure an IV drip of... antibiotics? Could be just saline, for all I, or any other patient knows. The preamble to the WHO (World Health Organization) constitution reads “health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". It goes on to say that good health is a fundamental human right. Surely that means health maintenance, not seeking a doctor when an ominous symptom manifests, right? And if health maintenance is a fundamental right, shouldn't it be affordable and guaranteed?

Early morning, my neighbor clatters down the stairs. Just about when he hits the first landing, right by my apartment door, he makes a great honking sound, snorts, and spits a wad as he descends the last few steps to the foyer. I can hear 'floop!' as he ejects his mucous and the 'splat' as it hits the floor. A few buildings away, another man engages in a sneezing fit. It seems to be a ritual for him. I can hear him every morning. He does nothing to muffle his affliction. At noon, a loving and engaged Grandma returns home with her charge. How do I know she is loving and engaged? Because she constantly exhorts the small child, all the way up the stairs (and then down again, after the noon break). She does not do it quietly. On the bus, a phone jangles. “WEI???”, and thus begins an exchange the entire bus can hear. In the supermarket checkout line, an elderly woman pushes past to take a place at the front of the line in spite of the rest of us, who have patiently been waiting our turn. A workman comes to repair a water leak in my bathroom. He smokes as he works and throws his cigarette on the floor when he's done puffing. He squashes it with his boot as he walks out. Related to cigarettes, a common occurrence: smoking in restaurants where 'No Smoking' signs are prominently displayed. In restaurants, it is not uncommon to see/hear people loudly smacking their food, open-mouthed. Every evening at 6:30, save for when it rains, the neighborhood people, from the one I live in and from the community next door, gather to dance. Their music reverberates and echoes through the buildings. Sometimes they dance past 9 PM. Most recently, one of the groups hired a dance instructor whose amplifier is particularly loud. Mercifully, the drumming team only practices during the summer. This past September and October, it sounded like the two dance teams, the dance instructor and the drum team were competing to see who could be the loudest. In short: only rainy evenings provide quiet. During evening hours, when the area by the pond is most full of people, I don't suppose anyone does this but, one fine day, holding class outside, my students and I arrived at the pond area to find a woman defecating by the gazebo, in plain sight. Being a stroke victim she couldn't squat down; she stood, with her pants around her ankles, slightly bent over and holding on to a railing. I was mortified but my students shrugged it off, and the woman continued until her bowels were voided, and then sat down next to some of my kids and asked them questions about their teacher. The questions! “How old are you?”; “How much money do you earn?”; “Where's your husband?”; and the comments: “You're so fat!”; “You're so tall!” and once, a helpful soul dug into my wallet to 'help' me as I was counting out cash at a train ticket window while muttering approvingly about a foreigner who can navigate China independently. Here I might mention the lack of personal space: the Chinese like to crowd! According to the customs and manners I was raised with, all of these behaviors are rude. The people practicing them would be considered ill-mannered. Maybe someone would even chide a person who spits in the foyer of their building or is too loud. And woe to anyone who cuts in line! But these behaviors are... if not accepted, at least condoned in China, in spite of an ongoing campaign for civility. Since I've been here there have been public service adverts on buses, on television and on the subways: you should give your seat up to the elderly, the frail, expectant women, or parents of small children. You shouldn't eat or drink on the buses or trains, nor should you spit. The city is plastered with '文明' signs! I can't imagine how much the government has spent on these educational campaigns, or on dual refuse bins: one for trash and the other for recyclables, with a small inlet for cigarette butts. Throwing cigarette butts on the ground is one of my pet peeves. Trash too. Especially since these waste bins are liberally scattered all over China's cities; why throw trash on the ground? Most parents of young children that I know often chide their progeny after an uncouth act: Is that civilized? (那是文不文明？ - na shi wen bu wen ming?）In my opinion, that is laudable. We learn our best lessons as children. But the question remains: if children are being taught what is and isn't civilized behavior, and those behaviors mirror the ones I learned as a child, making them easy for me to recognize, how is it that these bad behaviors persist? And so, I wonder: with the perpetration of acts that would be deemed uncivilized, ill-mannered or downright rude by the apparent guidelines set forth by the government, acts that I understand to be uncouth because of those campaigns and because of my upbringing in a different environment, and these acts are apparently condoned, what would be considered rude, in China? Please note: in no way am I demeaning China or her people. Never would I say that anyone here is being deliberately offensive. I understand that this is a different culture than the ones I grew up in, with different standards and different norms, and there is nothing at all wrong with that. I am genuinely trying to understand what would be considered rude to a Chinese person, so that I don't inadvertently offend anyone. Please help me!

Giving 'face' is a Chinese expression for respect and civility. In everyday society, it is common to 'give face' to people, even those you don't like or respect – not exactly fawning, but courteous: frosty but polite, one could say. Face-giving is essential in business relationships, where a single act of disingenuousness can cost years of relationship-building effort. When you break it down, giving face equals not saying what you really feel. Recently, in America, a law was proclaimed that underscores the supposed importance of 'face'. In May, 2016, President Obama issued a decree outlawing the words 'Black' and 'Oriental', used to describe those of such origins. The law is ostensibly designed to prevent or eradicate ingrained racism toward such persuasions. 'African American' and 'Asian American' are now the correct terms. This move was heralded in China as an advance toward civility, one that other nations should adopt. Civility is apparently no longer a social more but a matter of law? Go figure! True enough: change the words, change the meaning, as in this example. “You have a face that would stop a clock!” - meaning: “You are so ugly clocks break when you look at them!”. Said another way: “When I see you, time stands still” alludes to the clock being stopped (by ugliness), but the sentiment is much less offensive. The logic follows that changing the name of certain races/ethnicities might have the same effect, right? What has that new law done for America? Since November 9th, when Donald Trump was declared the winner in the presidential race, hate crimes against those of other races have flared: more than seven hundred instances in the past 2 weeks, laws regarding civility notwithstanding. People of racial/ethnic origins other than white are living in fear of attack. In the streets, in schools, on college campuses: no one is safe. On a college campus in Michigan, a student wearing a hijab was threatened because of her religious garb: “You can't wear that here anymore. Take it off or I'll set you on fire” the accuser said, brandishing a lighter. Read the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/11/13/university-of-michigan-student-wearing-a-hijab-threatened-to-be-lit-on-fire-police-say/ That young man did not wake up, the day after the election, suddenly deciding to harm other individuals because of their beliefs. Such prejudice is ingrained! It takes years of conditioning to arrive at the conviction that one has the right (the duty?) to offend and threaten and harm others because their beliefs are divergent. To believe that one is absolutely in the right, simply because of their race or ethnicity. Britain has also seen a spike of racially motivated crime since Brexit. Figures show a 41% surge of racist or religious abuse in the months after the UK voted to leave the European union. Standing at a bus stop, a Brazilian-born man was speaking to his Mexican wife in Spanish when a woman approached them: “Do you speak English? Can you understand what I'm saying? This is our country. We are leaving the EU. We will stop having so many people like you over here.” Read the full article here: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37640982 How can mere words change so deep a prejudice? What law can be made to prevent such hate and disdain? How can anybody think that 'face' is going to stop people from hating and fearing what they do not understand? And that is the danger of 'face'. Not just concealing your feelings from those you wish to direct them to, but the fact that those feelings and ideas are left to fester and grow like the very worst social cancer, eating civilization from the inside out, one person, one family, one generation at a time, and nobody sees it until it explodes onto society, virulent and rampant. Bernie Noel, a man in Britain who runs prison gyms for the inmates, puts the fallacy of 'face' succinctly: “(... in the 1970s) you knew who the racists were – they were shouting their heads off. Now I look around and think, well some of you are still thinking those things but I don't know who you are anymore.” Read the article here: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37924448 And that is the sad truth of 'face'.

“I love you so much! I love you! I love you like I ever had a dog, or a cat! I LOVE YOU!!!” I roared with laughter at this declaration of love from my 7-year old granddaughter, Katherine. No longer should we say 'I love you so much'; there is now a more profound way to express love. And, it can be amplified: 'I love you like I ever had 7 dogs and 5 cats!', for example. Besides, 'I love you so much' is grammatically incorrect. There is no comparative or superlative to love, only degrees: an affinity for, liking, loving, revering, and adoring. Before I received that voice message from her, I would have said I adore that little girl; now I am on par with her: I love her at least 5 dogs and 5 cats. At least that much. Fortunately, she sent her tidings via voice message, so that I can play it as often as I like, for as long as I own this phone. And it just so happened that, that day, I was expecting company. They had barely made themselves comfortable when I begged for their attention and played them Katherine's message. They too laughed to tears. And then, the inevitable “You must miss your family so much!”. From my students' perspective – they, who actively miss their family and home life, it must seem like sheer insanity for me to have abandoned my little red-haired love in order to live on the other side of the world, year after year. As we prepared our dinner together, the conversation turned once again to how I could possibly live with what must be a huge hole in my heart that needs my family nearby to fill it. Strangely enough, I do not actively miss my family. Do other expats feel the same way about their families? What with all the technology available today, we can stay in close contact with our loved ones, can't we? At times, especially around the holidays, my family and I chat daily, and we constantly send pictures back and forth. I am with them on Christmas morning, when the children open their gifts, via video call. This supposedly lonely outpost of mine is not as it would have been one hundred years ago, when teachers and missionaries only had the solace of handwritten letters to relieve their longing for home. For me, where is home? With one grandchild living on the west coast of America and the others living on the east, should I be living on the same continent as them, I would most likely only be in touch with them via voice call, and would probably only visit once a year, as I do now, living in China. Well, maybe I would visit more than once. Still, living in China prohibits many family doings. I can't touch, hug, kiss or play with my grandchildren. There are no trips to Mema's (what my g-kids call me), and no sleepovers at my house. I'm not physically present for their birthdays or other significant milestones. Forget dance recitals and boy scout outings; I only get to hear about them. And that means that we have to put special effort into our relationship. Would she work so hard to find new ways of expressing her deep feeling if I lived next door? Would Katherine even be aware that the world is such a big place were I to live in her immediate vicinity? Probably not. Even though I live exactly 12 time zones away from her, I am comforted to know I am in her thoughts, as she is in mine. I think of how remarkable it is for this little girl to be able to cultivate a long-distance relationship with someone who only appears once a year, and that makes me admire her even more. So now I ask you: with Single's Day just past, did you tell anyone how many dogs and cats you love them? Go ahead: I dare you to!

With no set curriculum to teach and no mandatory assignments to give out, I have the latitude to talk about anything that strikes our fancy in class. This is a privilege I am ever grateful for. Now, well entrenched into my 7th year of teaching, I pause to think about the Top Five most appreciated/engaging lessons that are a part of the standard teaching toolbox I have built over the years. These lessons are chosen as 'prime' based on participation and student enthusiasm. Here they are, in no particular order. Mental Health and Depression: (Sophomores) Born of the tragic loss of young actor 乔任梁（Qiao Renliang), AKA Kimi due to suicide last month, and incorporating a lesson on public speaking, the students are to give a persuasive speech on mental health awareness and suicide prevention. After hearing their (limited) knowledge about depression and suicide, I thought it would be a good idea to give them some basics about clinical depression and what to watch for. I was taken by surprise to see most of my students sitting up and taking notes (or take pictures of the informational slides). Normally, they are not engaged when all I do is lecture. Seeing their interest in this topic convinced me they are thirsty for this type of knowledge. NOTE: in the course of the public speaking portion of this lesson, I introduce them to Toastmasters International, an organization for those who are interested in public speaking or building their confidence, with clubs all over China. (www.toastmasters.org) Body Image: (Freshmen) Modified year by year to reflect the current 'thin is beautiful' craze – last year, it was the A4 paper challenge, this 'show' includes everything from cultural beauty concepts to aesthetic beauty – PHI (pronounced 'fee'), otherwise known as the golden ratio. From calculating body mass index to keeping a food diary. The necessity of body fat is emphasized, as is drinking water for health. Eating disorders are also featured. The highlight of this presentation is when students are invited to calculate their BMI. A discussion follows about healthy eating habits and how damaging some media ideals of beauty are. The lesson generally wraps up with 'how to keep a food diary'. Cooking Class: (Sophomores) What student isn't crazy about food? And who (in China) doesn't want to know about cooking western food? Usually around Thanksgiving, I pack up my oven, implements and some food for a lesson on western cooking. We start the class by making a fruit cobbler or some cookies, from scratch. While the aroma of baked goods wafts through the room, the students are treated to pictures of a typical western kitchen, and what cooking utensils might be found in it. We then have a 'guess that tool' activity, in which I offer the students measuring cups/spoons, a potato masher, an egg slicer, some silicone spatulas and other tools, and they have to try to guess its use. After that comes the egg slicing contest, in which one student slices a hard-boiled egg with a knife, while another uses the egg slicer. Everyone is amazed at how efficient the egg slicer is, and from there, we make egg salad, served with crackers. I have introduced pasta salad and mashed potatoes in the past, but they got mixed reviews. The most favored dish is macaroni and cheese casserole, baked to a golden brown, with spicy chicken chunks mixed in. For dessert, we enjoy the cake or cookies that had been baking while the fun was going on. This is, hands-down, the students' all-time favorite lesson. This is CCTV, Channel 15 news! (Freshmen) Depending on the size of the class, 6-8 students 'volunteer' – they have no idea what for. I send them into the hall while I tell the remaining students about the day's activity. In groups of 2 or 3, they are: a family who will not leave their village even though the government has evacuated everyone else; the family of a kidnapped child; scientists who have discovered the Fountain of Youth (drink the water and be young forever!); plane crash survivors; a gang of thugs who are terrorizing the city; the country's oldest married couple; foreign teachers who have fallen in love in China; students going to Beijing for a conference on education reform; and a famous rock group who will give a concert that night. I give each group a prompt sheet, with questions they might have to answer when interviewed. While they rehearse their part, I visit the students in the hall. They are reporters who will interview the groups in the room. Each 'reporter' receives a prompt sheet with questions they might ask their interview subjects. After everyone has had enough time to prepare, the game starts. The reporters and interviewees are not permitted to talk to one another until time to play... “This is Kathy Krejados, with CCTV, channel 15 news. Today, our top story is...” As I announce each 'story', the reporter and interviewees come to the front of the room and do their role-play. It is made more fun because I bring props, and the kids love to make use of them! The last news story is invariably the famous rock group, and usually they will sing a little bit. With that, just as the bell rings, the news anchor signs off: “Thank you for watching CCTV channel 15 news; I'm Kathy Krejados, and we'll see you again for the 6PM newscast.” Smiles and laughter drift out as the students leave. The Online Class: (Teaching Majors classes, Sophomores) This has been, by far, my most ambitious project. Changing from our standard lecture-style classroom, this series of 6 lessons is held in the school's computer lab. The purpose is to introduce students to resources they might not know are available to teachers. Here I instruct on proper use of PowerPoint, introducing OpenOffice software (www.openoffice.org), a free office suite comparable to the MS (and better than WPS) office suites. Fully 2 days are occupied with Quizlet – how to use it and how it benefits teachers and students alike, and another 2 for Wikispaces. The students' assignment is to create a study set of Chinese words for me to learn, using both of those applications (haha!) The last week is dedicated to Camtasia, a screen-capture video capable software. Their final exam is an assignment: produce a 2-minute teaching video on any topic they choose. Overall, this teaching gig has tested my creativity to the limits, but it has also given me free reign to explore what can be done in a classroom and how I can help these kids develop a love for learning. I believe I am lucky that I am not expected to be a traditional teacher, regurgitating the same material year after year. I wonder if, were I to be a 'standard' teacher, if I would keep up the level of enthusiasm and energy I get to project in class? I wonder, if other teachers were to have the same latitude I have, would they deliver their lessons with more zest and zeal than my colleagues currently display? And sometimes, I wonder: do zest and zeal actually matter when teaching? If you are interested in the materials for these lessons/activities, please let me know. I will be happy to share them with you.

T'is the season, again, for freshmen to hit the classrooms. Tanned from their 2-week military stint, they eagerly await their foreign teacher's dispensations: of tales from the west, of ways to learn English better, of a name they can proudly boast. One of the most common questions my freshly minted students ask: “Can you give me an English name?” I most certainly can, but the range of names that originate in England or other English speaking nations is pretty small. Considering I have upwards of seventy students in each of my freshman classes, I would have several 'Cate's, 'Bartholomew's, and 'Winston's per group. That might get confusing. Names in China are endowed with special power and meaning. Naming a child is a significant responsibility (and honor). Traditionally, the most venerated family member is tasked with naming the newcomer, and coming up with just the right name can take several weeks. Some families would even consult monks and fortune tellers, paying heftily for a most auspicious name because of the belief that one's name forecasts one's fortune. Here, the story of one girl who was particularly unruly in her youth. Her behavior was puzzling because her parents had consulted a fortune teller shortly after her birth, and named her according to that mystic's suggestion. By 5 years old, she clearly wasn't living up to that name – she was so naughty! Again, they went to the temple. Another soothsayer exclaimed that she had been given the wrong name at birth and suggested another name. The girl, now 9 years old and constantly in trouble, was again dragged to the temple. Another horrified exclamation over her misnaming, and another name given. In all, that poor child was renamed 4 times. She finally chose her own name (and her own fortune) after graduating college. These days, with Chinese tradition melting faster than polar ice caps, parents, uncles and even family friends can author names. When I first came to China, my students revealed that their grandparents (or a monk) gave them their names; these days it is parents or uncles/aunts, and nobody claims any monk named them. Still, everyone maintains that Chinese names have special significance. If names are indeed that important in China, why would the Chinese think names are any less important in the west? They are. I am sure you have heard people correcting a speaker on how their name is said. Maybe you have done it yourself. Surely you have asked a person to spell their name, or have been asked to spell yours. It is a measure of respect to say and write someone's name correctly. Should that respect extend to that name's origin, as well? “Do you have an English name?” No, I don't. My name originates from Greece. In fact, most names commonly used in the west, that are called 'English names' in China, stem from Latin, Hebrew, French, German, Greek, Spanish and various countries in Africa. So, the blanket phrase 'English name' – 英文名字 (ying wen ming zi), so commonly used in China, is inaccurate. And here is where I run into trouble. When I point out and try to correct that inaccuracy, I am told: “'English name' is just the way we refer to all names in the west. There is nothing wrong with that.” In other words, just accept the error and move on. It is unimportant. I beg to differ. Not only because names are as important in the west as they are in China, but because of pride of heritage. Just like the Chinese, westerners are proud of their origins. And 'English name' is incorrect because it suggests that such a name is just a name, with no tradition or meaning attached. And because implying that all western names are English names extends the misbegotten idea that 'the west' is synonymous with America – an idea that plagues most Chinese. I can understand why foreign names are all considered English, thinking about the historic impact that English-speaking 'invaders' have had on the country: Americans settled Shanghai; British took over Hong Kong; and that today, English speaking nations are the most politically impactful. Still, other countries have had influence on China: cars from Germany and France, a flood of students from various African countries, trade partnerships with South America. So, why is it that China insists western names are English names? Wouldn't it be equally easy – and more correct to say: “你的西方名字叫什么？” (ni de xi fang ming zi jiao shen me?) - “what is your western name?” If supermarkets are filled with sales people urging you to buy Spanish olive oil, Danish cookies and German chocolate; if car lots are filled with Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens (and VWs, BMWs and Audis); if entire college dormitories are filled with students from all over the world - and there is a certain prestige in all of that foreign-ness, why stick with 'English names'? Names, too, come from all over! C'mon, China! Let this foreign teacher do the job you hired her to do: correct misconceptions and broaden perspectives. Please don't limit yourself only to 'English names'; that denies the rest of the world and its many wonders, including meanings of exotic names like: Jasmine ('flower of the olive family', from Africa), Erica ('Honorable Ruler' in Danish) and Linda ('beautiful' in Spanish).

As I prepare to leave clean air and cool weather, I reflect on what makes Germany so unique and desirable a place to live, compared to other countries. Not just China, but for refugees from all over. Organization: Germany seems to run like a well-oiled machine. From large societal concerns like transportation to smaller, local customs, there seems to be no discord – unlike the cacophony of China. Seldom did I hear any horns honking for their right of way in Germany, nor did I see any traffic jams. The bus lanes were reserved exclusively for the buses, even if that meant that all the cars had to line up in one lane. Nowhere was any music blaring or people square dancing. The German bus system should be the envy of the world! Each bus stop, no matter how far out from city center, had an itinerary posted that indicates which bus you can connect with at any given stop along its route! Besides that helpful tool, there are LED indicators at the bus stops, showing when the next bus is due. Riding double-decker buses in Berlin, I spied WIFI antennae on single-deck bus roofs that broadcast the vehicle's position, so that the readouts are always current. As I understand it, China is moving in this direction but, so far, the LED readouts are not necessarily accurate, and smaller towns are deprived of this technology altogether.That's OK; these things take time. Paying for transit could not be easier. As a guest, I had the option of buying one of several tickets: a single ride or a 4-ride ticket (good for 4 trips), a day pass for any one or all zones. Residents can buy a Monthly fare card, either for the lines they always ride, or a comprehensive card, good for all of the buses in one zone. Month Cards have a set price, adjusted for students, elderly and handicapped, and can be reloaded every month. You can ride any bus included in your Month card as often as you want. To prevent someone stealing and using your bus card, it has your picture on it. China's elementary 'pay-per-ride' system is not bad, especially if you have a fare card. And, if your city operates as Wuhan's mass transit does, if you change buses within 90 minutes of paying a fare, your second bus ride is free – even if it is a return trip. However, visitors have no options beyond paying a per-ride fare and smaller towns do not offer a bus card option, that I know of. History: I mentioned in a previous post how Sam commented about Germany remembering her history. He hit the nail on the head, and there's really not much more to say about it, other than as compared to China. Only belatedly did China reflect on the historic significance of the Beijing Hutongs, for example. Now, amidst new construction and ever taller buildings and more roads and subway systems, China is scrambling to reprise her heritage sites. Temples and landmarks are being rebuilt across the country. Not so in Germany. Centuries-old buildings are still standing and still in use, in spite of 2 World Wars and other ravages. Significant edifices, such as the Reichstag in Berlin, have been converted into museums. Furthermore, many of these solid structures are being modified to include modern conveniences such as solar energy and wireless networks – to wit, the church I took a break in, that offered free WIFI. Education: as I understand the education system in China, students test at around 10 years old to determine aptitude and are educated according to that test result: trade school, middle and professional. Each division offers a more difficult curriculum. However, the great leveler in China is the GaoKao: a pass/fail indicator of whether the student is permitted to attend college and, if so, which college s/he can matriculate at. Every student takes the same exam, regardless of which 'path' s/he was educated on. Germany follows the same system: a test around age 10 which determines the educational path the student will take, with curriculum dedicated to either trade, mid-level employment or professional. The Gymnasium, the only 12-year school, prepares students to enter college. The mid-level schools whose curriculum ends at 10th grade, cater to the majority: those who might go into a trade or management. Students in the trade school divisions can test up for the mid-level school and 'middle school' students can test up to Gymnasium level. Only Gymnasium students take an exam called the Abitur, equal to the GaoKao, to determine their college entrance qualifications. Upon achieving satisfactory marks, students can enroll in any number of universities, according to their interest/aptitude. Religion: Germany still operates on Church schedule. Thus, you had better get your weekend shopping done by Saturday at noon, lest you be without bread for Sunday breakfast. Nothing is open on Sunday (stores, bakeries and so on. Restaurants do brisk trade, even on Sunday). Even though society is mostly turning away from religion, the banks, post offices and stores still uphold the centuries-old timetable of closing for the Sabbath. Any wonder why I felt the culture shock, after having been in China for so long, where banks and post offices are open 7 days per week? Healthcare: Germany has the world's oldest national social health insurance system. Depending on your level of income (or if you are a refugee), you can subscribe to AOK, the general health insurance coverage; KKH, insurance for management personnel and doctors, or you can opt for private health insurance. AOK is funded in part by equal employee/employer contributions, KKH is more of an 80/20 employer/employee pay-in, and private health insurance is paid for solely by the person holding the policy. Germany being a socialist country, patient needs are parsed out sparingly, but still sufficiently to treat/cure the patient. A person with private health insurance does not receive better care than a tradesman, for example, but they receive more benefits such as a private room or an at-home nurse, should their situation call for it. I do not know enough about China's healthcare and insurance systems beyond what I experienced to make a comparison with Germany. I can attest to having to pay for per-service fees (lab, X-ray and such, for each of my doctor's visits, with the promise of reimbursement from the insurance company. How much my employer's health coverage defrayed the cost, I have no idea. Safety/security: There were 1 terrorist attack and 1 shooting during the 2 weeks I was in Germany. Thankfully I was nowhere near either of them, but they gave me pause. In spite of the flood of refugees, the drug underworld and heightened terror threats, Germany's security is surprisingly lax. At train stations, on metros... nowhere did I have to go through any security checkpoints. All of the platforms are open. Anyone can walk into the train station and occupy the platform, and even board a train, whether s/he has a ticket or not. In fact, I saw quite a few people buy tickets from the conductor on the train. Not that I think like a terrorist, but I think it would be incredibly easy to board a train without having to buy a ticket, and blow it up, mid-journey. Heavens forbid, that ever happens! As someone who cannot conceive of the need to blow a train full of people up, I prefer the German system. It hearkens back to an older day, when travel was adventurous and exciting, and upstanding citizens were the norm. The stations are full of little restaurants and snack bars and shops; one can idle the time away till the train takes off without having to submit oneself and luggage to scrutiny. That contrasts sharply with the mad stampede to get on-board a train in China, but I have to give props to China for being so very security conscious. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to even think of blowing up a train, after showing one's ID to get a ticket, and then showing that ticket and ID to gain access to the station, and then again to board the train, and then again once on the train, and then again to leave the train station upon arrival. And I haven't mentioned having one's bags X-rayed and going through a body scanner yet! (Well, now I have). That is a lot of redundancy but it works well to deter anyone from contemplating any destruction. Security at the airport, flying out of Germany, was also minimal. I was able to keep my lighter and a small pocket knife I always carry on my travels in my hand luggage instead of my checked bag. There was a body scanner, but no subsequent patdown, as in Chinese and American airports. In spite of the lax security and seeming terror just around the corner, I felt very safe in Germany. Maybe because I was snugly in my hotel room by nightfall, or perhaps it was the police presence. It seems that, on all levels, Germany has an organized society, with well-established boundaries and these terror cells are outliers of the norm. in fact, just minutes after the shooting at the shopping mall, I overheard one young man say to his friends: “Hmm, there's been a shooting at Olympia.” and that was the end of the subject. Perhaps it is that very German attitude of normality that causes such a 'normal' feeling. You might think that I prefer one country over the other but the fact is, every country has its strong points and its flaws. A 2-week stay in Germany does not give me any more authority to determine its value any than 6 years in China can teach me everything about this beautiful land and her people. Leaving Germany, I ask myself the question I always ask, after leaving any city/country: could I live there? The answer: YES!

I don't think I need to write long narratives about the food in Germany, just an explanation of the pictures... right? For my 3-day stay in Frankfurt, I opted to shop for typical components of a traditional German 'abendbrot' ('evening bread', AKA dinner): bread, meat, cheese, a buttery spread, some fruit and a sweet for dessert. It was the first time I had ever eaten lemon flavored chocolate. If possible, it won't be the last time: it was delicious! It is quite common to snack while out. A favorite throughout the country is a Doner Kebap: roasted meat with lettuce and tomato on a bun. The best one I have ever eaten, including during my stay as a youth, was in Frankfurt. Unfortunately I did not think to take a picture of it; I wised up to picture taking later in my trip. Here is a variation of the traditional sandwich, a Doner bowl: French fries on the bottom; roasted, shaved meat on top and all of it drowning in a savory sauce. Another popular snack is sausage and bread with mustard. This is not a tear-inducing mustard like wasabi but a gentle, spicy sauce that brings out the flavor of the grilled meat. German cuisine is mostly either boiled or grilled, thus easier on the stomach than fried. Perhaps that is why my stomach found this food much more agreeable. The perrenial favorite of fast food: the currywurst (a sausage covered in curry catsup) with fries. (that might contradict my previous statement of German food being boiled or grilled. However, one doesn't eat 'curry mit pommes' every meal, or even every day, so my previous statement is true). Germans prefer dipping their fries in mayonnaise rather than catsup, thus you have the option of both on your plate when you order this original Berlin favorite. Wheat and sweets form a large part of the German diet. In their most delectable form, they present as pastries. A common pastime is to have coffee and cake, a habit I partook of with gusto! Glazed fruit tarts with cream filling Honey-almond cake and a coconut macaroon Chocolate mousse cake NOTE: I only ate so many coffee/cakes in order to present them to you (giggle!) In fact, I did my best to have coffee and cake every afternoon but, sadly, I failed in this mission. Here, you are witness to my few successes. An overwhelming favorite is Italian ice cream, what is also known as gelato. This treat is catching on in China. You should try some! Before leaving China, I had set goals for myself. Eating goals, that is. Foods that I'd not eaten in so very long, like a wienerschnitzel. Oddly enough, ethnic restaurants abound: Greek, Italian, Turkish and Mediterranean, but it was surprisingly difficult to find an authentic German restaurant. The first one I stumbled across, during my day-long bike ride around Berlin, offered up this traditional dish: Grilled sausage on a bed of sauerkraut, with boiled potatoes and salad. Bread is a common complement to any German meal, and selzer water is ubiquitous. NOTE: Germans are not famous for eating huge chunks of meat. Their intake generally consists of sausages of various types. However, there are exceptions... I've been in Germany for 2 weeks and have yet to have a wienerschnitzel: a piece of veal or pork pounded flat and breaded, and then grilled (or fried) and served with potatoes and red cabbage. I had to do an internet search to find this dish, visiting an out-of-the-way kneipe (a neighborhood bar and restaurant) for the pleasure. Actually, a wienerschnitzel comes with mushroom gravy. This picture is of a plain schnitzel. It was good, but I should have gone with the proprietor's suggestion: fleischroulade (a meat roll: rice and cabbage wrapped up in a thin beef strip, and covered in sauce). Although I had ordered a seltzer water with my lunch, out of either habit or tradition, the waitress brought me a beer. I was a bit uncomfortable downing a beer just hours before flying back to China but, as it turns out, she was right: it went perfectly with the meal. My last meal on German soil. Guten Appetit! (Eat well!)

I've been strangely apposed in writing about Berlin, probably because the tsunami of feeling I washed away in (and I am still swimming in). It is easy for me to step back and be objective about other locations but when the houses I grew up in, the school I graduated from, the places I worked at are still standing, after all these years, and I'm standing in front of them, awed at how time seems to be playing on 2 levels – the past and the present... Berlin blew me away. From the moment of arrival after an 8-hour train ride and checking into my hotel just before 9PM, I was beset by a twilight sense of wonder. Not the least of it was caused by... how long has it been since you've seen a hotel room with an actual key, hanging on a big brass fob? My hotel was one street over from Kurfurstendamm, affectionately referred to as the Ku'damm, the city's premier walking and shopping street. I used to "run the Ku'damm" when I was a teenager. Tired and overwhelmed, still I couldn't resist: I took off walking. I had to lay eyes on Remembrance Church, bombed out during World War II and left as a visual reminder of hatred and fear, and one man's desire to rule the world. My friend Sam said it best: Germany remembers her history. I agree with him. Everywhere amidst the modern, you see the old, even in the most modern of German metropoli: Berlin. Here, I am torn: should I include pictures you could easily find by a simple internet search, or pictures of my life growing up? If you like doing internet searches, here are some things to look for in Berlin: Alexanderplatz, Reichstag, Brandenburg gate, Charlottenburg Palace, Gedachnisskirche, Tempelhof, Berliner Dom, Funkturm, Checkpoint Charlie. My first full day there, after a fitful night's sleep in spite of the long train ride and all of the walking, I rented a bike and visited all of those places, dawdling at Alexanderplatz. When I called Berlin home, that location was walled off but made famous by the atomic clock and the television tower. Legend has it that that tower was built when TV came into vogue, and it was to be a showpiece of East Berlin's progressiveness. The ball housed an exclusive restaurant that people vied to eat at. The only problem was that the tower was close to The Wall, so patrons could dine while longing for freedom in the west. In fact, as the story goes, everyone sat on the west side of the restaurant, hoping their weight would be enough to topple the tower into the west, thus forcing a path to freedom. In response, the restaurant was renovated to include a rotating floor, so that nobody could be exposed to only a western view. The last standing guard tower, one of the few remaining remnants of Soviet occupation, is tucked away on a side street, behind – of all things, the Spy Museum. It is not very tall; 4 meters at most. After the custodian showed me on a map which part of the wall that tower overlooked, I was able to climb inside. I was hard-pressed to imagine the no-man's land this horrid relic oversaw for all of the new buildings that surrounded it but I had no problem picturing the bleakness of existence for the people in that part of the world during the 28 years the wall was up. I had been there during that time, after all. The next day I paid a day fare and rode buses to everything I remembered of my youth. Nothing had changed. From the bus window I saw the Outpost movie theater, where I had my first job. These days it is a museum for Allied artifacts. (You can find its picture on the 'Net, too) Getting off at Oskar-Helene Heim, I walked through the former Berlin Brigade housing area to the apartment I lived in when my daughter was born. From there it was off to Goertzallee, where I worked as a Supply and Services clerk. On the way I passed McNair Barracks, formerly home to the 6th Infantry brigade where my husband was assigned to, now condominiums. And then it was off to my old high school, and the ice cream store where we would get ice cream after class. I finally found my way to Steglitz, another place younger me had hung out and shopped. The day was waning and I was tired from all this rediscovering and, quite frankly, the emotional toll this Remembrance Tour was taking on me. Still, I had to make my way to Tempelhof, the site of the famous Air Bridge. Immediately after World War II, while the Allied Forces were still negotiating territory, the Soviets had completely encircled West Berlin with the intent of driving the allies out, thus claiming that strategic city for themselves. No food, water, electricity or supplies could get past those barriers. People in post-war Berlin were starving and freezing to death in their bombed out homes. The Allied command – British, French and American, quickly devised a plan. They would fly supplies into the besieged city! I can't imagine the planning and logistics that went into this effort but, every 45 seconds, a plane touched down at Tempelhof, loaded with food, medicine, and other vital materials. This went on for nearly a year: from June 1948 to May 1949. This statue commemorates the 3 Allied Powers's efforts. Of course, there's more to that story than this short blurb. If you're interested, here's a great link: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/berlin-airlift Mother's Day: I reserved the last day for my mother: where she lived, where she worked and where she rests. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I couldn't bear any more memories but I owed, and was owed this tribute. 16 Kaunstrasse, where she lived, is now a doctor's building. I had held a dim hope that her landlady might still be alive; I could thank her for attending to my mom. I am cravenly grateful she was not to be found. BB shopping center, where she worked, is still there, but it no longer caters strictly to Americans. In fact, there might not be any Americans there. Friedhof Dahlem is where, supposedly, my mother is buried. I could not find her grave but I walked through anyway. German graveyards look more like parks than graveyards. It was a peaceful letting of stormy emotions. Back to the pulsing life of the Ku'damm. It is time to shop for my loved ones, in China and America. And time to let go of the past.

I think it inevitable, as I wander around here, that I would compare my adopted home (China) to my former one. Here is how they stack up so far. Cleanliness: a tie. Although Germany has cleaner air and bluer skies, there are so many cigarette butts and gum wads and so much trash on the ground! I have a new appreciation for the street sweepers in China, and for the people who meticulously scrape gum off the sidewalk. In the week I've been here, I've seen exactly 4 people sweeping the streets, but many sweeping machines riding around. The problem with those is that they cannot get everywhere there are cigarette butts. For all of you who despair over how dirty China is: feast your eyes on this: Transportation: a tie. Both countries are gridded with rails; indeed you can get most anywhere here by regional, ICE, or S-Bahn trains. There are also nicely appointed long-distance buses, should the trains not suit you. And airports, of course. S-Bahn – or strassen bahn (street train) - imagine a metro car running above ground: that's an S-Bahn. These run to outlying towns close to big cities. The are distinctly different from trolleys, which run on a narrower track and have a shorter range. Both of these as well as the metro has space dedicated to bicycle transport. Small towns have more than adequate bus systems (which cannot accommodate bikes). Here the buses are clean and – imagine my surprise! have capacity limits firmly set: no stuffing as many bodies as you can on a bus or subway. In cities you have U-bahn (metro) and trolleys. Except for peak travel times in mornings and afternoons, you can always find a seat on whatever you're riding. (The signs say: "Standing on the upper deck, on the stairs, and between doors 2 and 3 is not permitted" and “Meant for: seats 83 standing 45 wheelchairs 2 Seats downstairs: 28 Standing 45 Seats Upper deck: 55) Whereas in China, buses run on an itinerary only, in Germany, they run their route on a timetable. So, while you can often find 2 buses of the same line one right after another in China, here it behooves you to know the bus schedules, lest you be stranded at the bus stop with the next one due in 45 minutes. So, even though I rated both countries a tie because of the abundance of transportation modes, Germany should get slightly higher marks for not packing their vehicles full and for following a strict schedule as well as for allowing bikes on most of their transports. Hospitality: China My friends, China has got it all over Germany as far as hospitality goes. In China, even the poorest hotel room offers air conditioning, house slippers and a kettle. I've yet to see a one-person (single) bed in any Chinese hotel room. Most hotels I've stayed at in China have a full range of toiletries – although, I have been recently informed that that is a vanishing practice. Imagine my surprise when I checked into my hotel in Frankfurt to find a single bed (what is known as a twin bed) and no amenities; not even air conditioning – and on such a miserably hot day! There was a fan in the closet, which I promptly put to use. The bathroom had no window and the door kept closing (I kept it propped open when I was in the room; otherwise it got too stuffy in there!) In many restaurants, you are expected to clean up your table after you eat, here (there are strategically placed racks for you to place your tray and empty dishes on). I remember how shocked I was, my first time visiting a Chinese McDonalds', on seeing how everyone just left their trays and garbage to be cleaned up after they left. And then, I got used to it, mainly because it made sense: it is a restaurant, after all. Should guests clean up after themselves? Here, I suffered a form of reverse culture shock: I am now expected to clean up after myself – which means that, among other things, the tables get wiped down a lot less often than they do in China. Tipping: a 10% tip is expected. After so long in China, where tipping is an embarrassment to the server and not at all required, again I am in a place where, after cleaning up my own dinner mess (and, in more modern establishments, bringing the food to the table, as well) I am expected to leave a gratuity. I wish the practice of tipping would go by the wayside worldwide. Whereas China's train stations and airports have water dispensers (choice of hot, room temp and cold water available in some places), and even America has cold water dispensers (they're not fans of hot water), I've yet to find a public place in Germany to fill my water bottle for free. Food: tie Having grown up on German food, I'm severely tempted to rate Germany as better than China. However, just as in China, there are questionable elements in German cuisine: schmalz stulle – a piece of bread with lard smeared on it, and topped with onions and pepper. Hackepeter: raw ground beef/ground pork mix, smeared on a bun. Imbiss food, comparable to street food in China, suffered the same stigma as does Chinese street food – unclean and unsanitary, so, over the years, imbisses have had to clean up their act. I've not yet seen a mobile imbiss standthat were so prolific in my youth; all the ones I've found so far are firmly rooted in place. That being said, I should now disclose the temptation to eat my way across the country. So many foods I've not eaten in so long! Currywurst mit pommes – a sausage drowning in curry catsup with a side of fries, and mayonnaise to dip them in. Döner kebap – a Turkish specialty of roasted goat or lamb, with shredded lettuce and a spicy sauce all tucked into a hearty bun. The afternoon habit of coffee and cake, that I've tried to emulate all of my life, no matter where I've lived. And cake is so abundant, here! In fact, the diet here is wheat-based: bread for breakfast and dinner – literally called evening bread (abend brot). The big meal is traditionally eaten at noon, and usually includes a salad, a meat and some vegetables and maybe some fruit. For sheer convenience, I rate German food as superior. One can easily eat a sandwich while walking; that is not so easy to do with a bowl of noodles. German food is easy to cook and satisfying, and eating the big meal of the day at noon makes good sense. Very little German food is fried; more often you are likely to find boiled or baked specialties. For culinary culture, China gets the higher marks. Society: Germany The main reason I rank here higher than China is because, in the week I've been here, I've seen few people obsessively staring at their phone. Here, the pastime seems to be – GASP! - to talk with one another! Even on trains, people stare out the window rather than at their screens. I find that refreshing. Drivers are so courteous, here! No need to fear getting run over in a crosswalk; people stop for pedestrians. And they wave back and smile when you wave your thanks. Nobody drives on the sidewalk, the bus lane or the bike lane, and nobody insists on their right of way; quite the contrary: drivers will insist that the other car go first. That can be quite comical, at times. On narrow roads, cars will tuck themselves into the shoulder in order to let the oncoming car pass. On the downside: beggars seem a bit racist. I've witnessed beggars walk right past people of different races to ask me (and other whites) for money. It seems they favor white people. At least Chinese beggars are equal opportunity mendicants. Perhaps it is because, for the past few days I've been roaming around smaller towns in the countryside, but people seem friendly, always ready to greet and chat. And 'Tschuss!' - an informal 'goodbye', usually shared between friends, pops out easily from storekeepers and casual acquaintances mouths. I haven't found any of that stark curiosity or assiduous avoidance practiced by the Chinese. With that, I say Tschuss! And carry on my wanderings. Next stop: Berlin!