Cultural games

In a recent email, a friend from Nanjing inquired "Did you ever play ping pong?" I felt as I had when a member of the Shandong University faculty inquired if I knew what Marxism was. Most assuredly, I played ping pong as a child, though it isn't America's quintessential game. The game I played most as a child we called Box Ball, though I've since heard it called "sidewalk tennis." Its rules were similar to ping pong. Box Ball was played on two squares of sidewalk, with the line between boxes taking the place of a net. We used high bouncing balls we called spaldines because they were ordered from Spaulding Sports. Brooklynites dropped final 'g.'


















"Hit the Penny" was also played on two squares of sidewalk We positioned ourselves at opposite squares and attempted to strike a penny placed on the line in between.










I have no idea if these games are still played in Brooklyn. Here in the Southern Mountains, no one has heard of them. It's obvious why-- except for downtown and the malls, we have very few sidewalks. These games were not played by kids I knew in Cincinnati, though there are plenty of sidewalks there.

Childhood games are determined by culture, but that has to be understood in a fairly broad sense. Region has as much to do with it as nationality.

Happy Landing

Returning to the US, I landed in Detroit, and then caught a plane for Tri-Cities Airport, here in the mountains. As we landed, I sang the national anthem under my breath. I wanted to shout, "I'm coming home"!

At customs, the officer looked at me quizzically when I said I'd spent six months in China. He inquired what I'd been doing there. When I said I'd been teaching English, he whistled, broke out in a grin, and saluted.

It's great to be back. Great to to understand the language, read street signs and get into my email whenever I like. Great to cook in my own kitchen and have a bed where the springs don't stick in my back. Great to know that if by some mistake, I park illegally or run a stop sign, the consequences will be uniform under the law. Great to post to my blog and see it whenever I want. Great to be able to open any website, even those having to do with politics and religion. Great to be able to talk politics openly with friends.

Like many people born in the Northeast I am a liberal, and like most people with my political leanings, I have disliked what I regarded as gratuitous displays of the American flag, though we fly it at home. But now, I shall post it on my office door, along with my hours and the linguistic cartoons.

No country is perfect, but US citizens enjoy many rights. We have to work to keep these. I consider most precautions taken at airports to be reasonable, in light of recent events, though I am disturbed that Homeland Securtity fingerprints invited visiting scholars. In China, no one did that to me. And I hope we shall soon see the last of our government reviewing our email without a warrant.

In a time of global terrorism, people can be persuaded to relinquish their rights in the name of security. Once eliminated, by legislation or practice, rights are hard to gain back. The Chinese accept practices we view as invasions of privacy out of custom and concern for safety. China is learning to relax a dysfunctional and over-controlled system. We would do well in these times to hold to our traditions, especially the Bill of Rights.

Back from Wonderland

I have returned from my half year's adventure. I am in the throes of jet lag and what sociologists call "reentry"-- the process of reacclimating to one's home culture. It's a bit like recovering from an illness. This is an odd analogy, since I had a good time, but somehow it fits. I tire easily, must take things slowly. At times, I am a stranger in my own home, for I don't remember where we keep batteries and lids to the soup pots. Using my cell phone is awkward, as Chinese cell phones are different. East Tennessee is quieter than I remembered it, the mountains taller, the houses further apart.

Today I went shopping and drove for the first time in over six months. After Chinese traffic I had dreaded driving and worried I'd crash. But it's easy to drive in America, where people follow the rules and traffic is orderly. I'd forgotten.

Joe left up the Christmas lights (below). Our sons, daughter and son-in-law will visit next weekend, and we'll keep them up until then. Joe put up a Christmas tree after returning from China. The Copes came over for dinner. Charlotte and I have begun to take walks.

I move pictures from the laptop to a portable hard drive, but I look at them only in passing. Chinese students send emails, and I respond. Slowly I unpack: clothing, gifts, memories, and my life.