We have been in Xiamen for two days, Dan is teaching for two weeks. We are staying in a wonderful hotel, well, it is not 5 starts or anything, but the room we have is an apartment style room. Not only it has two separate rooms inside the room with queen size beds, it also has a sitting area and an desk where Dan works on his lectures. There is also a majong table, where we use it as putting all sorts of papers on.
We have not seen much of Xiamen yet, all the mornings are occupied with teaching, and after eating lunch with the students, it is time for us to go back to the hotel for a nap. It will be almost dark when Kioni wakes up from her nap. Dinner follows and not much after that.
As much as we can see during our taxi rides to the training center and back, we see a clean city. Of course, it is still a developing country, so there are still tell tale signs of it in the city, e.g., broken sidewalks, people stepping out into traffic, dusty floors, etc. But in comparison to what I remember from years ago, this is a major improvement. The level of living is also far beyond what I have known.
I am especialy impressed with the students Dan is teaching, wonderful young people who loves the Lord. Still young in faith, but are already committing themselves into the full-time service of the Lord. I am very impressed by them.
We have finally had some time to do a few hours of visiting. Here are some photos to show what Xiamen and the "Piano Island" Gulangyu is like. The photos with tall buildings are taken in Xiamen, and the photos with more greenery were taken in Gulangyu, a small island where 150 years ago where various countries had their consulate located. For more history and other information on Xiamen, visit Amoy Magic online, a wonderful website by an American couple, they have lived in Xiamen since the 80s.
