Caught in the Action. . .Finally!

While the Polaroid One-Step had been out for some time, the complexity of personal cameras during the days of my upbringing was sadly lacking. Even the 35mm personal cameras of the day were sadly sub-par. Only a true, professional 35mm camera took decent photos, but a person needed a PhD. in photography to work the intricate settings in order to get an acceptable photo. (Okay, for all you camera buffs, this may be overstating the predicament, but compared to our digital cameras today, home photography in the Seventies and Eighties was almost like using a two stones to chisel a picture on a rock wall.)

Now this may be a strange equation, but add the simplicity of camera technology during the Seventies and Eighties to the fact that I played soccer and what you have as a result were a ton of photos of me standing out in the middle of a vast screen of green. My parents (my mom in particular) took photos of me playing the only sport I truly ever loved and displayed them for everyone to see. However, the problem with the pictures lie in the fact that I was just a colored speck out on the field. Because I usually played central defense, the times I was closest to my mother's camera was when I was standing still at mid-field, while the action with the ball took place in front of the opponents goal. Therefore, these pictures portrayed me as an actionless, colored speck out on the field. I remember the first good action shot I ever saw of myself was actually taken for the Wheaton College newspaper, and it was not taken by my mother.

Why all this photo build-up? Well, last weekend, a fellow teacher informed me of a friendly match to be played between any foreigners available versus a team of Kunming police officers. I found out about the match the day it was to be played, so Suli, four of my students, and I made our way to the Northside in search of some soccer, maybe some glory, and a few snapshots to put on my blog.
As Suli got used to my camera, her initial shots looked something like my mother's. In Suli's defense, we showed up a bit late, and I only got onto the field for the waning moments of the first half. So her chance for photos were a bit limited. However, if you cannot pick me out, I am the one holding my hand up to protect my eyes from the afternoon sun. The police officers all wore Spanish national team jerseys (red), while we wore royal blue practice vests.
Now, the positive aspect of my mother's photography and Suli's initial photographs is that my twin brother (in my mom's photographs) and my students (in Suli's photos) also suffered from the problems of taking action shots of soccer; they also tended to be colorful dots standing around on a large green field. In fact, in the above photo, Russell (one of the seniors at KIA) can be seen shifting his weight (oooh, aaaah!). He is the athlete in the middle of the photo wearing long black shorts, a grey t-shirt, and the practice vest, just left of the the man with the ball. Therefore, the troubles of shooting soccer can be applied to others.

The soccer athletes who have the most good, amateur pictures of themselves are wingers. Because wingers play near the sideline, and nearest the photographer, the person taking the photos has more opportunity to snap close-up, action shots. Case in point, Merwin (in the pants), a junior at KIA, and Weng Bong (with the ball), another senior, receive the benefit of being near the fan-side of the field and having a decent photo taken of themselves. Merwin played left midfield, and Francis played left forward, so they were often in perfect positions for photos to be taken. Russell, on the other hand, playing center midfield is once again just a colored after-thought, right in the middle of this photo.
Just so no one thinks it is still impossible to get good,amature action shots of soccer, the most positive thing about digital cameras is the software applied to the home computer. With a good quality photo and decent software, a person can crop a digital photo and bring the action closer to the viewer (ooooh, aaaaah!). I know, everyone knows that, but it greatly increases the accesibilty of good soccer photos for the amature photographer. Just look at the above photo of Weng Bong eluding two police officers. The original photo was good, but when I cropped the image and brought it in even closer, the action became even better, more life-like. Suli really did a nice job with that photo.

So where does this leave me? Well, I still tend to play in the central defensive area of the field, quite far from any photographer. However, with my digital camera, and the help of my computer software, Suli snapped this action shot, which I cropped and closed in on. Prior to the work on my computer, I was just a colored speck on a large green field. However, now I look like I might be in action. Of course that police officer sure makes my action look pointless because all he is doing is standing like a colored speck out on a large green field. Help me out a little bit mister; this is supposed to be me in action!

By the way, Foreigners, about a dozen goals, Police, two goals.

KIA: Kingpins In Action

When one thinks of a kingpin, one should consider the head pin in the triangle of bowling. It is the most important pin, because depending on where the ball hits it, it would cause a strike. When a person looks beyond that obvious definition, one will also find that kingpin can refer to the most important person (people) in a group. With that in mind, every year, in high schools around the world, the seniors consider themselves the kingpins of their respective schools.

At KIA, this perception is no different. I have challenged the seniors to be more than just the next graduating class, but often times they need to be reminded that they are still a part of this school. Sometimes they treat the rest of the campus as if they are above it. However, there are times when being a senior means serving others, in a fun way. Take recently for instance. The seniors spent the night at my apartment making cookies to serve at the next evenings 2nd Annual Homecoming Bowling Tournament. Over these two evenings, the senior class showed their industriousness and spirit.
The seniors spent Wednesday, 17 Dec. at my apartment making no-bake and sugar cookies. A year ago as juniors they did the same thing, except the cookies were made at Russell's house and Mrs. Legue's (another H.S. teacher) house. I vaguely remember how much of a mess this activity created at those venues, but when the mess came to my doorstep, I was astounded. Flour flew everywhere at the students rolled out cookie dough and made various shapes. Some students (Samantha, pictured above, and Grace) spent much time under blankets, because my apartment is evidently colder than what they are used to.

Meanwhile, who was left to do all the work? That's right, the guys. Well, that is not entirely true. I just happened to take photos of Samantha and Grace sleeping, Jennifer and Kyanne studying Calculus, and Kyle cleaning up. Really, everyone who showed up helped out in whatever way he or she could. The result was several dozen of each no-bake cookies and sugar cookies, which we sold all of them.

The real purpose behind the making of the cookies was to build unity within the class. Many of these students have grownup together, away from their respective home countries. And in a handful of months will be separating to go their own ways throughout the world. While graduating can be difficult for any senior, it can be especially difficult for those who have never really known their home-country and will soon be several thousand miles away from the only thing they have ever known as home: Kunming China. So along with cookies, the seniors used the new KIA logo and created their own team t-shirts--Kingpins In Action--to represent their unity during the bowling tournament.
Samantha (you may recall that last year at this time her family was dealing with the recent loss of her infant sister, caused by a vehicular colision with a drunk driver) was unable to join us for the bowling, but the rest of the girls got together to show their spirit. From left to right we have Jennifer "Seoul Power" (Korea), Grace "Twinkle Toes" (Idaho), and Kyanne "Little Red" (Oregon). While I have given their home-country or state, all three of these young women have been in China so long that each of them hesitates when asked where home is.
All the Kingpins got together after bowling for a class photo. The girls you know, but across the back are Weng Bong "St. Francis of Assisi" (Weng Bong's English name is Francis, Singapore), Russell "How Hot Am I" (Ohio), Kyle "Hyperbowla" (Korean math whiz), and Tim "Int'l Hunk of Power" (California). Of course the real kingpin stands flexing in front of them all, looking a bit like Wolverine I might add. The Kingpins In Action took third place out of six teams, behind the Staff (1st) and the freshmen (2nd). And as mentioned above, they sold all their cookies.

The strange thing about bowling: When the pins are knocked down, including the kingpin, the pin-setter simply replaces them for the next bowler. Similarly, these Kingpins will eventually graduate, and next year, a new set of Kingpins will take their place. But for now, they are the most important students in my life, and I only have five more months with them.

On the First Day of Christmas. . .Break

I began my Christmas Break 2008 with a short but memorable pageant of Christ's birth. After a thirty-minute (it felt like an hour), bumpy mianbaoche across town, Suli and I climbed the stairs to a third-floor yoga center that had been transformed into a small theater with a low stage. Christmas decorations hung from every corner of the room, which seemed twice as big as it was because of a floor-to-ceiling mirror behind the stage. A six-foot, fake tree stood in one corner with even more decorations strewn through its plastic boughs. The entire scene was a bit gaudy.

However, in one corner of the room, a tiny cast of characters sat around two tables coloring in pictures of the Nativity. As I snapped pictures, these children seemed oblivious to the flash of my camera, which is rather strange in China. Usually when I pull out my camera, the children at least stare into the lens, a bit amazed at the possibility that they might be on film. On this day, their little heads remained hunched over their pictures, and their little hands continued to scribble away at their pictures.
After a brief announcement, the cast of this Christmas scene trouped in to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" played haltingly by an adult sitting behind an electric keyboard, looking a little like Schroeder from the comic strip "Peanuts". As the cast made its way onto the stage, poor little "Joseph", who had just brought his family all the way to Bethlehem for the census, tripped on his own hem and crashed onto the raised platform. Even so, when the happy couple gathered around the manger (see above) and abruptly placed the baby Jesus in his new crib, the feeling of peace on earth still remained.

Of course, no self-respecting Nativity could go without shepherds, and these three sheepishly joined the proud parents. One even hid behind her cutout sheep. It even felt a little like the stable must have, because, while it was relatively nice outside, the yoga study was down-right chilly. I am almost certain I could see my breath.

When the three sages from the East entered, this little wise-woman immediately caught my attention. Her crown looked more like a tiara from a Miss-Universe pageant, but when she and her cohorts began singing "The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy", I could not help but think that maybe, just maybe, the original wise men did come from this part of the world.
Lastly, no Nativity would be complete without angels, and these children are truly angelic. Yes, their costumes made some of them look more like fairies, but in their tiny voices they still proclaimed the Word and sang like a "multitude of heavenly hosts". In all, the pageant was exactly what it was supposed to be: beautiful. It told the story (in English), even though each line had to be prompted by Suli's roommate Maria (from New Jersey). The parents of the children beamed, "Mary" pondered, "Joseph" struggled, the "shepherds" trembled, and the "angels" inspired. So, as the banner below states, "Shengdan kuai le!" Merry Christmas!

One day in Xiang Gang

Unless one is from a city of several million people--and I mean several more million than Kunming's approximately four-million people--one cannot appreciate the prospect of going into the big city for a day of shopping. During a recent trip to Xiang Gang (Mandarin for Hong Kong), many of KIA's Mandarin staff decided to allow me to join them for a shopping excursion of this grand city. After arriving via Shen Zhen on the mainland the night before, and having gotten a decent nights sleep at the Wu Kai Sha YMCA family camp (we actually slept in a sort of bungalow dormitory--men in one building and women in several others), women qu mai de dongxi.

As you can see in the photo below, the day started off with a ride into the city proper by way of the MTR. The experience was quite difference for us because the train was so empty. We have gotten used to Kunming busses--vehicles so crowded that the driver will often times not open the doors at a stop to let people on, or possibly not stop at all, if the bus is too full. In Hong Kong we enjoyed the uncrowded busses, and as you can see, our entire group was all smiles as we headed into town. From lower left to you see Jade, Vivienne, Angel, Serena, and, of course, Suli.
The first difficulty of a new city is getting oriented, and Hong Kong is big enough to force a person to pull out a map. Personally, I love maps. I loved being the navigator on family trips when I was just a boy. However, not all Chinese people are brought up with the same love of these navigational tools. After we had eaten a quick breakfast--noodles (some things remain the same)--and exchanged some of our renminbi for Hong Kong dollars, we consulted our maps. In the photo below, Jenny, the head of the Mandarin department, and Angel create our shopping agenda.

With Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, the Island, the "Ladies" street, Nathan Street, and many more places to consider, we realized that our group of eight was much too big to try to keep intact. So we split into two groups, which eventually split into three with Suli and I sometimes by ourselves and sometimes joining Serena and Jenny. One thing that compounded the shopping fever was sales season in Hong Kong. Boots, shoes, clothes etc. were all on sale, and every shop supplied at least one salesperson at the door way to try and gain one's attention toward what the shop had to sell. Needless to say, we really did not eat lunch that day; we were too busy seeking out the best deals on items we just cannot find on the mainland--for me, my size dress shirts.

Of course, one must find time to just stroll around down by Hong Kong harbor, and Suli and I did just that. The skyline lights up at dusk and remains animated until the wee hours of the morning. However, we were in bed by eleven.
As many of you know, a day of shopping can leave one drained--physically, financially (for some), and emotionally. Between Jenny (on the right), Serena (not pictured), Suli and myself, we found enough deals that Serena actually bought a piece of luggage for us to tote about our finds. On this day, Suli still did not find the boots she wants so desperately, but she remains optimistic.
On the train back to the YMCA, the ladies slumped onto a seat together, allowing one another to doze while each one took a turn making certain no one tried to abscond with the day's purchases. Meanwhile, I watched to media screen and took in the highlights of the English Premier League. My feet hurt and my eyelids were heavy, but soccer always seems to invigorate me. I realize that the teachers pretty much used me as their beast of burden, but it was fun seeing generally subdued Chinese women get worked up about the deals they found. I actually enjoyed toting stuff around.

Some Seasonal Differences

As Whitefish, MT, my home in the States, prays for snow to bless Big Mountain ski area, the weather in Kunming has shifted to its traditionally grey coolness. While daytime highs can range from the low-forties to the mid-fifties, the normally overcast sky and the lack of central heating in any building creates a situation where there is literally no place to escape the damp, coolness. Each of our classrooms does have an upright heating/air-conditioning unit, but this usually dries out the air so much that it almost always gives me sore throat. So I do not use that very much. Therefore, my classroom, during the day, usually settles into a shivery nineteen degrees Celsius.

Because of this, some students who struggle to keep warm have plan ahead to stay warm in class. In this photo, Caleb (Korean-American) takes his vocabulary test wearing his North Face down parka. While even he said that he did not necessarily need that much insulation, he also agreed that he was not too warm, but just comfortable. I can usually get by with a long-sleeve dress shirt and a vest (pants are a given), but some days I will put on a jacket to go outside during our lunch hour. For some students and more staff, this constant chill causes an inflammation of the hands and feet with a condition known as chilblains. I personally have never experienced them, and they usually afflict our female teachers more than our males, but evidently they cause the hands and feet to itch and burn, as well as swell. But enough of that.

One major seasonal difference between Kunming and the States is our sports seasons. In most states, soccer is an autumn sport, where as in Kunming it is a winter/spring activity. Likewise, basketball, traditionally a winter sport in the states, is an autumn/early winter event. Our boys and girls basketball squads completed their seasons with the annual Kunming City tournament held during our Thanksgiving break. In preparation for the tournament, we held a pep-rally for both teams. In the photo below, Sion (Korean) and Rachel (American, obscured by the paper), our team captains, burst through a sign as the teams are introduced to the rest of the student body.
The boys team finished up the tournament as the best team KIA has ever fielded. In the initial rounds, they won two games to admit them into the medal round where they eventually took sixth place. Previously, no KIA team had ever won a game at the tournament. While our boys have some decent skills, the coaching of the team really showed the difference between our boys and the Chinese teams. When a broken arm lead to our team only having one person on the bench, coach Erickson displayed how using timeouts and shifting formations could keep his boys in the game against very quick and athletic teams who had little team concept. Sadly Mr. Erickson will not be back next year, and we are once again looking for a new coach.

As for the girls, they struggled. Athletics are just now starting to become a feature at our school, and with so many students growing up in places that do not encourage athletics, we have many students who love to play, but who have no background in the sport. Our girls suffered from a lack of athleticism, height, and experience. The positive, neither the boys nor the girls teams have anyone graduating. Therefore, they should be given the opportunity to build on this year's results. Just pray for good coaches.

As part of our pep rally, we held a staff versus athletes tug-of-war. The staff, behind the strength and size of a few six-footers took an early lead. However, when six-foot assistant boys basketball coach, Kenny Stubblefield, and Zhuang Yuan, one of our guards who is built like a fire hydrant (he can be seen in the lower right of the above picture) decided to help the athletes, the staff started to lose ground. Then six-footer, Curt Andreassen, our office manager started tugging for the students as well, and it was all over. Of course the students thought they had won, but we know the way the wind was blowing before they received some helping hands.
The tug-of-war was followed by some pies-in-the-face chosen by the students by way of an "Applause-o-Meter." Mr. Erickson (with the cap on backward), Miss LaPorte (in the pink) and Mr. Johnson (not pictured) received whipped cream pies from the students. Caleb, our MC gets the crowd riled up as the pies reach their respective targets.

Another difference about our seasons is that very few of our alumni are available for Homecoming during a traditional American time slot in the autumn. Therefore, our Homecoming is actually the weekend of the beginning of Christmas break. That is when all the college students come back to Kunming to be with their respective families. Our homecoming consists of another pep rally, a staff vs. students volleyball game, and an annual bowling tournament, pitting each of the high school classes, the staff, and an alumni team versus one another. Our bowling tournament will be held on 18 Dec. this year. Last year, my homeroom (juniors then, and seniors now) called themselves "Team 300". However, after last years bowling debacle, we might have to amend our name to "Team 90 Average". While we did not come in last, we certainly struggled. But we had fun and look forward to this year's event.

Lastly, I thought I would just leave you with an interesting idea. I teach students from all over the world. As an example, the above photo shows Kevin (left, a Canadian born to Chinese-turned-Canadian parents), Daniel (center, Australian), and Valentin (right, Austrian). These students, in many ways, cannot be compared with their counterparts in their home countries, simply because of the vastness of their life experiences. These students often speak two, three, and four languages, and while they struggle to identify a "home culture", they do create somewhat of their own culture. Therefore, to see them playing "Apples to Apples" seems a bit ironic, because comparing these students to other is often like comparing apples to oranges. The thing I like is that they are still youths, and this means that some things never change. Even when the seasons do.