working on the railroad

One reason I like going to the English Corner at the Chongqing public library every Saturday is graduate students and professionals attend.  Talking to them is very different from talking to my shy sophomore students.  Even though this group has varying levels of English ability, they want to discuss substantial topics on a challenging intellectual level.  Reading the New York Times everyday is little prep for these discussions.  Why didn’t I pay more attention in high school economics?  Did I even have economics?  Can ANYONE explain the Electoral College?  Despite what the Times says, people in China are paying attention to the election and they are listening to the debates.  I’m fielding many questions, questions I cannot answer.

Obama?  Romney?  a word, please.  Your frequent and maybe hostile sounding references to China are making my job here as a PEACE corps volunteer more difficult.  In some infinitesimal way, I am representing the United States to this small group of intellectuals.  I cannot, and do not attempt to, explain the US foreign policy toward China.  Nor, can I attempt to interpret or explain your seemingly anti-China attitudes and let's-get-tough sounding campaign pledges.  I cannot even judge if what you're saying makes any sense.

What I can do is hopefully put a friendly face to the word American.  That's it.

It was during last Saturday’s English corner that I learned about the reason for the incessant pounding outside my apartment building.  An old railroad is being rebuilt, by hand.  I walk a short section of this old railroad bed from my apartment to the start of the endless-steps that go to the upper campus.

I find this a fascinating story.  After the railroad was removed, some local, nostalgic people complained to the government that they wanted to preserve the railroad's history; the government listened, and then took action.  This seems like a pretty big social shift from the past when Chinese people had no voice.  But, the action is right out of the 19^th century, featuring a few men, picks, and shovels, and backbreaking manual labor to restore this section of railroad.  I can almost hear our famous railroad folk song.  In the US, we convert old railroad beds into smooth, often paved, walking/bike paths.  Not here, even though people do walk this stretch to get from place to place.  Bikes are not used in Chongqing because it is so hilly.  

a few men, lots of backbreaking work

It’s not clear where the railroad goes, but it was once associated with cargo, or moving mil-itary people to SISU for language training.  SISU was originally founded as a Russian Training School of Southwest Mil-itary University in 1950. On the other side of the school is still a base/school/training center.  I start and end my day with the Chinese militar-y version of "Taps," so I can attest to superpower their PA system.

pounding in nails, one at a time

my apt building from the railroad

this railroad is now for show, not use