Sunday, December 31, 2006

A Global New Year on the Way in China: 一个全球性新年在途中在中国

A New Year has dawned here in China. I just awoke. We are seven and a half hours into it here. It is just half an hour before the New year rings out in my homeland Scotland. I feel so comfortable here in China. I almost said my former homeland. I now feel China is my home. I live in a very comfortable apartment in Suzhou tastefully furnished by my wonderful landlady and partner Gong Hui Hua.

I love the kids I and my colleagues teach at the IFY college in Number One School (Yi Zhong). We had a parents day the on Saturday. I told them that their children were not only smart but had good hearts and a capacity for work that truly astounds me. I felt that our future global commonwealth will be in good hands. A significant proportion of it will depend on their children am their fellow countryman's commitment to sustaining its effectiveness. I am sure they will be so committed.


We are staying in Shanghai at the truly beautiful Anting Villa Hotel 700 Yuan a night (£45 GBP) with a decor and setting to die for. The American and French Hotel chains have nothing to rival this in quality and or price. It is in the middle of the old French concession in Shanghai a great European cultural contribution to this great city. The concession is full of lovely broad boulevards and mansions similar in quality to this one.

Gong Hui Hua and I saw in the New Year in the company of our friend's in Shanghai Swing at the equally beautiful Chartres restaurant. We danced the night away till at least 4am. the setting was superb overlooking a magnificent garden and the floor was marble and to die for for dancing. We mainly danced to recording of the great bands of the swing era, Chick Webb, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Glen Millar and Bennie Goodman but two musician friends showed up and about 12.30 and played the night out for us with some great very very fast clarinet jazz. courtesy of the wonderful Mrt Pops.

She is a wonderful "follow". We have only danced a little together. She has only had one lesson in Lindy Hop but she learned the side by side Charleston and the Swing Out last night and performed both almost as well as she can move to her partners lead in ballroom and regular jive dancing. Wow! She is a knock out as a dancer, friend and in reality my wife.

She cooked a most wonderful 14 course dinner for my and my work colleagues celebration of Christmas last week and I set out to enjoy work every day catered for by her to a truly wonderful standard in every department of life that a husband could expect of his wife and more. She is never angry. She is always happy. She smiles all the time and manages to keep me the same way nearly continuously.

I say nearly because while I am well on top of defeating my own internal tensions and the deep rooted sources of anger that have haunted me, and those close to me, for most of my life. I have still not quite made it. I know with her I will. The Way through her has given me the opportunity to root them out for ever and truly enjoy the remainder of my life in a happy positive way radiating her and my happiness outwards for others in the way her smiling joy does for all who touch her. I know for certain I can now get to the same place. I can and am learning how to to keep her and all those around me as happy as I now feel most of the time.

My Chinese improves by leaps and bounds. She and I now regularly have enjoyable very simple happy amusing conversations. Soon I know our electronic dictionary will become a support to our verbal communication as opposed to its main channel and by them I am certain our verbal capacity for relating will reach and surpass our currently highly effective parallel physical, emotional and spiritual channels.

I have truly found my home here in China with her and look forward to participating in building it strong safe and satisfying in the way I feel my small efforts with my kids will do for the future of this great and exciting country in which I now live and work. As each day dawns I have higher and higher hopes for our joint human future.

I will not try and phone my great brother in Scotland. A New Year, hopefully as good, has just dawned there to as I hope it has and will for my lovely ex wife Susan and my lovely big hearted daughter Heather.

一个新年破晓了这里在我醒七和一半几小时入它这里的中国。这以前是正义半小时在圆环里在我的家园苏格兰。我感到很舒适这里在中国。我几乎说我的前家园为我现在感觉中国是我的家。我居住在一栋非常舒适的公寓在Suzhou 由我美妙的女主人雅致地装备。我爱孩子I 并且我的同事教。我星期六有一父母天。我告诉了他们, 他们的孩子不仅聪明但有好心脏和一真实地震惊我的工作能力。我感到我们的未来全球性联邦将是在好手里假设一个重要比例它将取决于他们并且他们我肯定是相似的同乡的承诺对承受它的有效率。我是肯定的他们将是因此做了。我停留在上海在真实地美丽的Anting 别墅旅馆700 元每夜(.45 GBP) 与装饰和设置死为。美国和法国连锁旅馆有没什么抵抗这在质量和或价格。这是在老法国让步中间在上海对这个伟大的城市的巨大欧洲文化贡献。让步是充分的可爱的宽广的大道和豪宅相似在质量到那个我现在居住。I 和我的女主人和伙伴锣惠・华锯在新年在我们的朋友陪同下的在上海摇摆在相等地美丽的Chartres 餐馆。我们跳舞夜直到至少设置是雄伟的俯视一个壮观的庭院的4.am. 并且地板是大理石和死为为跳舞。我们主要跳舞对伟大的带摇摆时代, 小鸡Webb, Ellington, 计数Basie, 托米・Dorsey, Artie Shaw 的公爵录音, 幽谷Millar 和Bennie Goodman 但二个音乐家朋友出现了和大约12.30 和演奏了夜为我们以一些伟大的非常非常快速的clarinet 爵士乐。她是美妙的"随后而来" 。我们少许一起只跳舞。她只有一个教训在Lindy 蛇麻草但是她以及她能搬走向她的伙伴带领在舞厅和规则jive 跳舞肩并肩学会了查尔斯顿和摇摆在昨晚之外和几乎执行了两个。哇! 她是敲作为舞蹈家, 朋友和实际上我的妻子。她烹调了一顿最美妙的14 条路线晚餐为我并且我的工作同事庆祝圣诞节和上星期我下决心享用工作每天由她顾及对一个真实地美妙的标准在丈夫能期待他的妻子和更多生活的每个部门。她从未恼怒。她总愉快。她一直微笑和设法几乎连续保留我同样方式。我几乎说因为当我很好在击败我自己的内部紧张和困扰了我的深刻的根源的源泉的愤怒, 并且那些顶部紧挨我, 为大多数我的生活。我不相当仍然做了它。我知道与她我将。方式通过她提供了我机会根源他们为曾经并且真实地享受我的生活剩下的时间用一个愉快的正面方式放热她和我的幸福向外对其他人就象她微笑的喜悦做为所有接触她的。我知道为确定我能现在去对原处。我罐头和上午学会怎么对保留她和所有那些在我附近一样愉快象我现在感觉多半时间。我的中国人改善由飞跃和区域。她和我通常现在有令人愉快的非常简单的愉快的可笑的交谈。很快我知道我们的电子字典将成为支持对我们的口头通信与它的主水道相对并且由他们我肯定我们的口头容量为关系将到达和将超过我们当前高度有效的平行的物理, 情感和精神渠道。我发现了我的家这里在中国与她和真实地盼望参加大厦它强安全并且满意就象我感觉我的小努力与我的孩子将做在我现在居住的未来这个伟大和扣人心弦的国家并且工作。如同□天破晓我有对我们的联合人的未来的越来越高希望。我不会审判和不会给我了不起的兄弟打电话在苏格兰。一个新年, 有希望地象好, 破晓了那里 对如同我希望它有为我可爱的前妻子苏珊和我可爱的大hearted 女儿石南属植物。