S is for SHANGHAI JEWISH REFUGEES MUSEUM

is for Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum

Nu? Jews in Shanghai?  Who knew?

Sonia was the consummate guide of interesting places to go.  When I arrived in Shanghai, she gave me several brochures and told me we could go to any of these if I was so inclined.  One got my interest immediately - Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum. We went to the Hongkou District to check it out.

I pride myself on knowing much of Jewish history, but the story told in this museum was new to me.  It seems that from the early 1900's through the end of second World War, Shanghai took in over 18,000 refugees fleeing anti-Semitism and the Third Reich. Much of this was due to Dr. Fenghshan Ho, the Consul General of ROC in Vienna, who issued visas for Jew. In 1943, Japanese occupation authorities established a "Designated Area for Stateless Refugees", and forcibly relocated all Jews who arrived darter 1937 to an area in Tilanqiao, Honkou, where they lived harmoniously with the Chinese residents already living there.

The area of the Museum was small, but we were taken on a short tour through the building that was the former Ohel Moshe Synogogue.  We walked through a few exhibits showing pictures of people lives, interviews with some of the Jews who had lived there, and into the prayer area, with torahs still in the Arc.  

Then off to a disappointing gift shop. I am not quite sure what I had hoped to find - perhaps a yarmulke with Chinese characters, or a Chai with Chinese symbols - so all I bought was a refrigerator magnet that would prove to my relatives that such a place does exist.

But it does, and I was, as always, moved when I experiences the traces of the journey of the Jewish people, and moved, as always, by the kindness of the people who took them in and protected them in their hour of great need.

Here's Sonia and our friend from the Costa Coffee Shop buying our tickets to the museum.

                                    

                      This would have been a fun book to own!  Sadly, no copies were for sale.

                                               .

                               Another interesting book that had been turned into a cartoon.

                                         

(so, what did Sonia write about in her blog, writtenselfie.blogspot.com ?

R is for RECEIPTS (fao piao)

R is for RECEIPTS (fao piao)

I hate organizing receipts. I hate remembering to collect, and write up, and put in columns and lists and books.

But I have no choice.  It is how I keep track of expenses.  And as a free lancer, that's what I have to do.

Why do I dislike mundane tasks? THAT is the question. But, mine is not to wonder why...mine is just to do it!

Q is for QUESTIONS

 is for QUESTIONS

My trip to China was full of questions. Here goes:

Air and Water Quality:

• Will I need a face mask?
• Will I be able to breathe?
• Will I return home with an inoperable disease based on the water I drink or the air I breathe

Clothing:

• Will I be too hot in what I brought to wear and/or perform in?
• Will I be too cold?
• Will I have enough?
• Will I have too much?
• Will my suitcase be too big or small?

Language:

• How can I communicate with the Chinese people?
• Do I need to know the Chinese word for "help!"?

Transportation:

• How do we travel across the city?
• Will the transportation (i.e. busses, trains, planes, subway, cabs) be dirty?
• Will I be able to read the maps?

Gifts:

• Do I need to bring people gifts?
• Why?
• What is the exchange rate?

What I did not wonder about is interesting...

I did not wonder about 

• having a good time
• enjoying performing in China
• making the stories make sense in China
• eating great food
• enjoying my time with my leader Sonia.

And of course, all my questions were answered. I am alive and well, and had a great time eating good food around good people.

P is for PANA WAKKE

One day I got an email from Sonia Zivkovic, saying (my wording) "Do you want to come to China through my company, Pana Wakke, and perform for children?"  The answer was, of course, YES! 

Several friends had done this tour with Sonia, or were going to, and had a great time in China and with Sonia. One of them had recommended me, so it was not a complete surprise.  And boy oh boy oh! This sounded like fun, and of course I wanted to accept the invitation. But what was Pana Wakke?  

Pana Wakke means, in one of the indigenous languages of Sonia's native country, Argentina, Brother Sister. It is a company formed by Sonia and her brother to bring American storytellers to China and other countries as an artistic and educational supplement to the schools.

Sonia is a great believer in and a strong advocate for the power of storytelling in education. As a former teacher and school leader, she knows how the musicality, the physicality, the vocabulary and the fun of storytelling help English language learners become more secure in their grasp of a second or third language. In every school, she is not only a contractor but a partner as well, offering performances as well as storytelling workshops for staff and parents, making sure the needs of the school are met.  

She is also a lover of storytellers. Sonia watches over every detail - how the mics are working, how the audience is situated, how much water the storyteller has, how cold the auditoriums and stages are, what the timing of the shows are, if the children are all in their seats, how the teller gets introduced, when lunch comes ...I admit, it took me a little while to get used to the fact that I did not need to help out - except to perform. How lovely that is!

She is also a magnificent tour guide. She sees it as part of her "job." We walked and walked and walked. Through parks, down hutongs and lanes, into and out of stores and malls and by buildings old and knew. Sonia could almost always give me the lowdown on the history, the reason, the She showed me places I would not think about going to, and had knowledge of different sites, theater, and restaurants not in the tourist guides. Plus our cooking class at The Hutong ranks as one of the best things we did in Beijing!

The schools love Pana Wakke, the book fair people love Pana Wakke, the kids love Pana Wakke (and some recognize Sonia as the bringer of storytellers!) and I love Pana Wakke - and Sonia too, who is the heart and soul of the company.

Want to learn more? Check out the website Pana Wakke yourself.

Sonia is blogging with me on China at writtenselfie.blogspot.com

O is for OMG!

OMG!

China is so big!  The cities are so crowded!  Traffic is terrifying! The Malls are ridiculously large and tall, and go down several layers subterranean!

OMG!

The food is so good!  You can buy this cool yogurt on the street in beautiful little milk glass containers (only one of which I remembered to bring home with me)!

OMG!

The bullet train is fast!  The train to the airport is fast!  Cars are fast!  Taxis are scary fast! People push past you! The escalators are so weirdly steep!  

OMG!

The Great Wall of China is so awesome - awe inspiringly awesome! The tourist areas are so crowded! The streets are so clean!  There are so many expensive cars getting stuck in so many terrible traffic jams on small streets!  The scooters are everywhere!

OMG!

Performing in schools in China is so fabulous! The kids are so great, and the administrators at the schools so welcoming!

OMG!

Walking fast through China's street is fun!  Clotheslines are everywhere!  Shirts, coats, dresses,  pants and underwear hanging from doors, windows, balconies!

OMG! I feel right at home here but as if I am in a different kind of home!  OMG!  It is so cold in Shanghai and so hot in Shenzhen!  OMG!  It is so much fun being in China and hanging out with Sonia and her friends!  OMG!  When can I return?

N is for NOISE!

China is loud.  The trains are loud, people argue loudly in public. There are so many cars, so much traffic,  plus  all the people crowding into the subways, walking down the streets, in the stores, on the walkways – it does not only sound loud but it also FEELS loud!

Sonia and I were in a subway one day. Must have been rush hour, though every hour can feel like rush hour. We were all jammed up close together, and holding onto the pole, when a man started yelling at another man. Why? Of course, not speaking any Chinese dialects, I do not know, but it was obviously an intense disagreement. They argued for as long as we were on that train.

What surprised me about the scene was that most people were ignoring the commotion, and going on with their own conversations or silences. In New York, people would have tried to get away from the center of the conflict, some might have tried to reason with the two men, the scene might escalate into violence. 

Later, Sonia said that when she first saw scenes like that, she was surprised. In her native  Argentina, such a disagreement would have turned quickly into a fight. But here in China, the arguments are with words, and no one is shy about arguing loudly.

N is for NOISE!

N is for NOISE

China is loud.  The trains are loud, people argue loudly in public. There are so many cars, so much traffic,  plus  all the people crowding in the (wonderful) subways, walking down the streets – it does not only sound loud but it also FEELS loud!

Sonia and I were in a subway one day. Must have been rush hour, though every hour can feel like rush hour. We were all jammed up close together, and holding onto the pole, when a man started yelling at another man. Why? Of course, not speaking any Chinese dialects, I do not know, but it was obviously an intense disagreement. They argued for as long as we were on that train.

What surprised me about the scene was that most people were ignoring the commotion, and going on with their own conversations or silences. In New York, people would have tried to get away from the center of the conflict, some might have tried to reason with the two men, the scene might escalate into violence. 

Later, Sonia said that when she first saw scenes like that, she was surprised. In her native  Argentina, such a disagreement would have turned quickly into a fight. But here in China, the arguments are with words, and no one is shy about arguing loudly.