Tuesday, September 25, 2001

From: Meg Thomsen meginchina@yahoo.com
Subject: Moon Cakes and Reflection

Hello Friends and Family!

It's a rainy day here in Dengguan, and everyone here is making preparations for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. It is a special holiday, sort of like Thanksgiving at home. All over the street, old women sell tang hulers (candied hawberries on a stick), and the bakeries are working overtime making moon cakes.

On the holiday itself, people travel to their families to eat mooncakes and share a big meal. I will travel to Deyang for a quick visit with my host family, but will spend the week travelling with my friends Amy and Julie. Where will the week take us? We're not yet sure- perhaps down to Yunnan Province to hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge, perhaps north to Songpan to ride horses through the mountains, perhaps down the Yangtze River on the three-day ferry to the Three Gorges. It all depends on the train. Trains sell out quickly during the holiday, so we'll just have to go where fate takes us.

I'm starting to establish a life here in Dengguan. It's not hard to do. The students are excited to learn, and are very welcoming to us. When Molli and I walked into our classes to teach for the first time, our students began to cheer and applaud us! We keep the doors to our apartments open all day long, and there is an endless train of students there. It's a good feeling.

Still, during the recent tragic events in America, it hasn't been easy to be so far from home. Many of us spent anxious hours and days waiting to hear news of loved ones, just like many of you did at home. And we're all worried here about what could happen next, just like I know that you are. We are in a safe place here. The rice paddies and mountains of southern Sichuan are not a violent place. However, it doesn't matter if you are in a safe place when you're worried about those that you love. But, no matter how much I'd like to be home right now, I know that it's important for me to be here in the Peace Corps. People in China have been very supportive about what's happened. Students here cried upon hearing the news, and every day, both Molli and I hear hundreds of messages of condolence.

After we had heard about what had happened, we went to Zigong to visit our closest Peace Corps neighbors. Andy and I stayed up until 7 in the morning, so that we could participate in the candlelight vigil in the U.S. (at 7 PM EST). So, when all of you stepped out of your doorways with your candles, Andy and I were here in China, but we were with you. We went to the park, and we sat still. The park was full of the aged doing the swirling motions of Tai Qi, and men selling peanuts and apples. We sat still in the midst of all of it, and for that moment, we were at home in America.

I hope that all of you are well. Stay safe.

Meg

Meg's Mom's Related Links:
Mid-Autumn Festival -- More about the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival