An old friend in a new place

Last Tuesday we rolled into Zhengzhou by the bullet train from Beijing.  This is not the fastest train but it got up to 165 km/h.  It was very nice and smooth.  Upon arrival in Zhengzhou (a very large city), we were met by CL & Dale.  We’ve known Dale for many years but it was wonderful to spend time with him in a place other than Chicago.  Dale is semi-retired from his position as a music professor in the U.S. and is now teaching at a university in Henan Province.  He is really enjoying his students whom he describes as more eager to learn than many of those he had in America.  I attended one of his choral classes.  They were working on a piece in Italian and another in English.  Dale makes it fun for his students and yet they learn a lot from him at the same time.  Tonight he invited them to join him for a movie night and pizza.  By the time Dale is finished next May, I know he will have many students who will miss him.  I think he is adjusting well to life in China.  He goes for a massage twice a week at only 50 rmb a session and always enjoys good food. 

                

We also got to see CL and his bride of one year, WW.  Once again, we were blessed by people who treated us like royalty.  We stayed in a nice hotel, ate some great food, and CL spent a lot of time transporting us to and from the rail station (more than one hour each way).  CL is a voice professor at the school and his wife teaches piano.  We had a lot of fun with CL and asked him a lot of questions about China. 

                

Seeing friends like this in a new place is a great experience.  The same high quality people but in a different environment.  It was a great two day stop on our sabbatical journey.  

Dale conducting

A meal of spicy Henan food 

Dale getting worked over