MY BLOG HAS RESUMED

HELLO EVERYONE! I AM BACK AFTER AN ABSENCE OF SEVERAL MONTHS. I HAD TROUBLE GOING ON MY GOOGLE BLOG HERE IN CHINA, BUT THINGS SEEM TO BE OK AGAIN WITH MY BLOG. A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE MY LAST POST IN OCTOBER,2011. I AM NOW TEACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL IN MAINLAND CHINA NEAR BEIJING.

MORE TO COME TOMORROW AND FROM NOW ON- I MISSED GOOGLE AND I MISSED MY READERS.

I HOPE YOU MISSED ME TOO.

A RAINY NIGHT IN SHANGHAI

THERE IS AN OLD CHINESE PROVERB THAT SAYS- IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING- LET IT GO- IF IT COMES BACK TO YOU, IT'S YOURS, IF NOT, IT WAS NEVER YOURS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
MAYBE THAT SUMS IT UP ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE IN ANSHAN.
TWO MONTHS LATER- I RECEIVED AN E-MAIL FROM CHINA LOVE, THE MARRIAGE AGENCY IN ANSHAN. THEY TOLD ME THAT LI AHN LEFT A MESSAGE FOR ME.
SHE WANTED ME TO KNOW THAT I SHOULD FORGET ABOUT HER AND FIND ANOTHER WOMAN IN CHINA FOR A WIFE. SHE SAID HER DAUGHTER VERY VERY ILL AND SHE HAD TO BE THERE WITH HER IN  CHINA TO TAKE CARE OF HER.
I WAS NOT SATISFIED. THE WAY I FELT, REGARDLESS OF HER DAUGHTER'S HEALTH, SHE HAD NO RIGHT TO SHUT ME OUT OF HER LIFE. MAYBE THAT WAS AN EXCUSE TO COVER UP THE FACT THAT SHE WAS LYING TO ME ALL ALONG ABOUT LOVING ME.

I LEFT ANSHAN AND FLEW TO SHANGHAI AIRPORT TO CHANGE PLANES FOR NEW YORK. WHILE I WAS IN THE WAITING AREA OF THE AIRPORT, I CRIED  UNASHAMEDLY
WHILE I WAS ON THE PLANE WAITING TO TAKE OFF-IT WAS RAINING OUTSIDE-I COULD SEE THE RAINDROPS AGAINST THE WINDOWS OF THE PLANE. I THOUGHT OF LI AHN AND WHAT SHE WAS DOING AT THAT MOMENT. SHE WAS THINKING OF ME I WAS SURE.
THE RAINY NIGHT OUTSIDE WAS A METAPHOR FOR MY OWN TEARS IN MY HEART.
SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE DID WAS WRONG AND SHE OWES ME AN EXPLANATION. SOONER OR LATER, SHE WILL GIVE ME THAT EXPLANATION- THAT IS MY ONE SATISFACTION.
TIME TO MOVE ONWARDS.

FATE

THIS WAS A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE FOR ME. THE NEXT DAY LI AHN WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET ME IN THE HOTEL LOBBY. SHE DID NOT. HER FRIEND TOLD ME LATER THAT SHE LEFT ANSHAN EARLY IN THE MORNING BY TRAIN FOR DALIAN. SHE SAID SHE TRIED TO CALL MY HOTEL ROOM BEFORE SHE LEFT- I DID NOT KNOW- I WAS NOT IN MY ROOM.
MY PLANS WENT UP IN SMOKE, I WAS HOLDING HER ENGAGEMENT RING - I NEEDED TO SPEAK WITH HER SO VERY MUCH AND SHE LEFT. I FELT A MIXTURE OF BETRAYAL, ANGER AND BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT.
WHY WOULD SHE DO THIS TO ME? THERE WAS NO REASON- ABSOLUTELY NONE. I LOVED HER AND BY HER OWN WORDS AND E-MAILS TO ME, SHE FELT THE SAME.

I SPENT ONE MORE DAY IN ANSHAN BEFORE I  LEFT FOR SHANGHAI AND THEN HOME TO NEW YORK. THE FLIGHT HOME WAS LONG AND LONELY.
GOING HOME, THE AGENCY SAID THE LADY FROM MY FIRST VISIT IN JUNE WANTED TO SEE ME. IT WAS  SMALL CONSOLATION. HER , HER DAUGHTER AND ME HAD LUNCH TOGETHER. ALL OF US KNEW THIS WAS GOODBYE. SHE GAVE ME A NICE GIFT- A JADE PILLOW. I WILL KEEP THAT AS A REMINDER OF ANSHAN.

ANSHAN IS A VERY NICE CITY BUT IT WAS TAINTED BY THE MEMORY OF WHAT HAPPENED THERE.

UNEXPECTED FAREWELL

TO CONTINUE- WHEN I SAW LI AHN , I WAS THE HAPPIEST MAN ON EARTH. WE SPENT THE AFTERNOON IN THE PARK IN ANSHAN, ME, HER AND HER FRIEND WHO SPOKE ENGLISH  VERY WELL AND ACTED AS AN OCCASIONAL INTERPRETER SINCE LI AHN'S ENGLISH WAS NOT VERY GOOD. WE CAME BACK TO MY HOTEL, AND AFTER RELAXING
FOR A WHILE ,WE WENT OUT TO DINNER AT A WONDERFUL RESTAURANT IN ANSHAN.
WHEN WE ARRIVED, LI AHN'S CLOSE FRIEND JOINED US AT THE TABLE- I SUPPOSED SHE WANTED TO SEE ME UP CLOSE. OUR MEAL WAS DELICIOUS, WE HAD DONKEY! IT WAS MY FIRST TIME EATING DONKEY- APPARENTLY IT IS A POPULAR DISH IN CHINA- NO- IT DID NOT TASTE LIKE CHICKEN-HA! IT TASTED LIKE WELL- DONKEY  WE ALL HAD A SEVERAL ROUNDS OF COLD CHINESE BEER. WE WERE ALL FEELING HIGH FROM THE BEER AND THE GREAT FOOD.

AFTER DINNER, ALL OF US TOOK A SLOW WALK BACK TO MY HOTEL. IT WAS GETTING LATE AND I ASSUMED I WOULD SEE LI AHN TOMORROW MORNING BEFORE I LEFT FOR NEW YORK, WE KISSED PASSIONATELY IN FRONT OF THE HOTEL AND SAID OUR  WAN AN- THAT IS CHINESE FOR GOOD NIGHT.

I TOLD LI AHN BEFORE WE PARTED THAT NIGHT- THAT I WANTED TO TALK TO HER IN THE MORNING ABOUT SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT. IT WAS.
BEFORE I LEFT NEW YORK, I HAD BOUGHT A VERY NICE ONE CARAT DIAMOND RING FOR HER. I WAS GOING TO GIVE IT TO HER IN THE MORNING AND ASK HER TO COME TO NEW YORK ON A FIANCE VISA. WE COULD THEN GET MARRIED SOON AFTER.
I WANTED HER AND HER 14 YEAR DAUGHTER TO COME TO AMERICA- I KNEW WE COULD HAVE A GREAT AND HAPPY LIFE HERE IN THE STATES.

I SLEPT GOOD THAT NIGHT- NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS TO COME THE NEXT DAY.

LIFE IS FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS- THIS WAS A 180 DEGREE ONE.

EPILOG

I RETURNED TO ANSHAN IN AUGUST, 2008. UNINTENTIONALLY, IT WAS AT THE START OF THE SUMMER OLYMPICS IN BEIJING.  I DID NOT PLAN THAT, IT WAS JUST THAT LI AHN HAD SOME FREE TIME AND SHE WANTED TO SPEND IT ALL WITH ME,NATURALLY I JUMPED AT THE OPPORTUNITY AND I ARRIVED IN SHENYANG AIRPORT AROUND THE 12TH OF AUGUST. SHE WAS NOT AT THE AIRPORT WHEN I ARRIVED, THE HEAD OF THE CHINA LOVE AGENCY WAS THERE TO MEET ME. RIGHT THEN I HAD A FEELING SOMETHING WAS NOT RIGHT. HE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT LI AHN WAS IN ANOTHER CITY NEARBY-DALIAN. HE DID NOT KNOW WHEN SHE WOULD ARRIVE IN ANSHAN TO SEE ME-BUT IT WOULD BE SOON. THOUGH I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED- I HOPED THAT THIS WAS NOT A PERSONAL SNUB BY HER ONLY A CONFLICT OF SCHEDULES.
 I SPENT THE NIGHT AT A PLAIN BUT CLEAN HOTEL IN ANSHAN. THE NEXT DAY, THE AGENCY BOSS INFORMED ME THAT LI AHN WOULD BE COMING FROM DALIAN TO SEE ME IN THE EVENING. MY MOOD SOARED HIGHER THAN A 767 JETLINER!

IN THE LATE AFTERNOON, I WAITED IN THE HOTEL LOBBY FOR HER.
SHE ARRIVED AND SHE SMILED SO BEAUTIFULLY AT ME. WE  EMBRACED AND KISSED AND FOR ME- THE WORLD WAS MINE- I HAD EVERYTHING I WANTED OUT OF MY LIFE.
I ASSUMED SHE FELT THE SAME WAY.
LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT THE CLOCK WAS RUNNING OUT ON OUR TIME AND OUR FUTURE TOGETHER.

RURAL DENTISTRY

Thanks to Lemuel Craft
When my husband suggested we start a goat cheesedairy I thought he was crazy. What did we know about goats or making cheese? We found a great plot of land outside of town and immediately bought 20 goats – 20 goats! I was way out of my element so I spent a lot of time working on things inside the property like going to www.satelliteinternetbroadband.com/ for internet and talking to security companies and tour companies. My husband’s been doing all the farm work and he’s got all the fences and working with the animals and he’s actually way better at it than I ever imagined he would be! I can’t believe we’re actually about to start making our own cheese and selling it to people and I know my life’s about to change like crazy. I guess this goes to show you never really know how things are going to end up or what you’re going to be when you grow up so you’ve got to be open and prepared for anything that comes your way!

LI AHN

I SPENT THREE DAYS WITH HER IN ANSHAN- IN MANY WAYS-MY LIFE CHANGED AFTER THAT- BOTH FOR THE GOOD AND THE NOT SO GOOD. SHE CAME INTO MY LIFE LIKE A GODSEND- MAYBE SHE WAS. SHE WAS DIVORCED LIKE ME AND HAD A TEENAGE DAUGHTER- I HAD A TEENAGE SON.
WE HIT IT OFF RIGHT AWAY- I COULD FEEL THE ATTRACTION- LIKE I KNEW HER IN A PREVIOUS LIFE.
WE  WENT MANY PLACES IN ANSHAN- BUT WHEREVER IT WAS- IT SEEMED LIKE MAGIC- EVERYWHERE WAS DISNEYLAND BECAUSE WE WERE TOGETHER.
SHE FELT THE SAME ABOUT ME I KNEW. MAYBE THAT WAS WHY I WENT TO CHINA AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME AND PLACE - TO MEET HER.

THESE PHOTOS DO NOT DO HER JUSTICE- SHE IS EVEN  MORE BEAUTIFUL IN PERSON-
DURING MY TWO NIGHTS WITH HER- WE WERE INTIMATE AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL BETWEEN THE BOTH OF US.
WE WENT DINING OUT WITH MY GUIDE FROM CHINA LOVE- THE AGENCY WHICH TOLD ME TO COME TO CHINA. IT WAS  AMONG THE HAPPIEST THREE DAYS OF MY LIFE.

I KNEW I HAD TO SEE HER AGAIN.  I DID IN AUGUST.