Tomb Sweeping Day

Erin greeted me outside of our building today. "Louis is late. He has our key. He thought class was at 8:30, so we can not enter the building yet."

"Oh, that's fine! It's such a beautiful morning," I said.

"Yes, and I'm sorry, Abbie. Emily will not be joining class today. She went with her boyfriend to visit Ohio."

"Wow! Really? Tell her to call my mom! That is so awesome! What is she doing there!"

"Oh no, Oh no!" Erin shrieked. "I made an April Fool of you!"

I guess it's my fault for assigning an April Fools joke for homework. I hate being tricked....

Erin was right though, it would just be the two of us for class today. She enjoyed her private lesson and we were able to accomplish a lot. Her pronunciation is getting much better and she has the best grammar skills out of all of my students. It's really amazing to see one of your students get better at something before your eyes. We spend part of our Thursday class proofreading articles. I make her read some of the sentences out loud to help her identify any mistakes. Today, after reading a sentence aloud, she looked at me and said, "It sounds a little Chinglish, right?" I laughed.

"Chinglish" is a pejorative term that describes Chinese people attempting to speak very poor English.

Right as class was ending, I received a text message from Jen telling me that there were a bunch of old men selling birds at the park. I know I am my mother's daughter when I get excited about the idea of old men selling birds. I dropped my bag off at my room, grabbed my camera, and began walking.

I slowly approached them with my camera in full view, made eye contact with one of the older men, and pointed at my camera. He smiled and bowed his head, so I began clicking away. I can't identify the birds, but their songs' were so beautiful. It made me excited for spring.

From their location, I saw some older women dancing, so I walked over and smiled with them as they danced to traditional music. From there, I walked a few more blocks to one of the outdoor markets. The strawberries this week look much more fresh than the ones from last week. After that market, I walked past a park and watched people sing, dance, and play traditional instruments. Everyone is so happy today. I completed my walk by strolling through the other market that is the closest to my home.

I made two very small purchases today:

The first is a silver bracelet with two birds and two flowers on it. I thought it was a fitting purchase considering the day I have had.

The second was a stack of paper money. This Monday, April 5th, is the Qingming Festival. Translated, it means "clear brightness" but they refer to it as "Tomb Sweeping Day." It is a celebration of Spring and renewal, but it is also a somber day of remembrance. I asked my students to try to tell me (in English) all about this holiday. They believe that the deceased still watch over them, so on Tomb Sweeping Day, they travel to their deceased loved one's grave sites. They clean the graves from the winter debris and place beautiful flowers on their graves. That evening, they burn paper money to send to their loved ones. I asked them why their loved ones need money in the after-life and Rebecca said "to live."

I find it remarkable that even without conventional religious practices, they still believe in an after-life... and it is one where you can live again.

I have been having a very difficult time, lately. I have some home-sickness, but Spring always reminds me of losing my father. With every flower that blossomed he became more ill. As the days grew brighter and brighter, he became more fragile.

I spoke to my mom this past weekend. She told me something that I can't seem to shake from my thoughts, "You are his soul, Abbie. You are your father's daughter. Every act of kindness you do is keeping his spirit alive. Think of all of the people you can touch while in China..."

I am in love with that thought.

I hope that this Spring teaches me something new. Like the Chinese, I will commemorate his passing with sadness, but I will have hope for the new spring, as well. I'm not sure if my dad needs any money in heaven, but I'll burn a few sheets for him just in case.