Page 64 - moondani kyema
P. 64
ndani kyema, My Story - Ray Moore 64
the old church where we had a Christmas service and didn't have to dream of a white
Christmas because there it was all around us.
Even as a twelve to fourteen year old
there was a stupendous sense of awe,
not only at the formidable magic of this
new world that had been created
through a covering of snow, but also
amazed and fascinated as I observed
the winter dead trees which now had
found new life with snow along the top
of every branch and icicles hanging
from below to form nature's Christmas
trees - far more beautiful than any trees
that had been taken indoors and
decorated.
The Chefoo School always had a full program of leisure activities and sports. There
were the annual athletics as well as a choice of a number of other sporting activities.
The list included soccer, softball, hockey, tennis and cricket. There was also an
active program for scouts and guides, and a lot of wonderful places to hike.
Jiang Kaishek had built a holiday residence for his wife in Kuling, and one day I met
them. It happened like this. On one of our hikes three of us were wandering along a
pathway just enjoying the freedom of being able to do something that was not under
the watchful eye of our teachers. We saw a snake beside the road and with some
excitement were able to kill it. We had just completed this gruesome task when
along came a small group of Chinese people, who stopped to see what we were so
excited about. It didn’t take us long to realise that two of these people were Jiang
and Madame Jiang. She spoke excellent English and talked to us for a while before
both groups moved on in their own directions.
When the communists crossed the Yangzi and became our new government in 1948,
There were a couple of nights when the Government forces under Jiang Kaishek fled
south and the communist forces had not yet arrived, creating a hiatus when
lawlessness could abound. Fortunately nothing happened to us in that time.
However on both nights we heard the persistent
clang of cymbals and the crash of drums,
“Contour Path” follows accompanied by bursts of firecrackers, as local
the side of the mountain people did what they always did to keep evil spirits
from our school to away. Our new masters took over with little
change to our routine except that we had Miss
Mao come in and teach compulsory Chinese to all
of us, and we were more restricted in our ability to
roam around the mountain. We did hear that the
heads of some “brigands” had been displayed for a
number of days in the main street of the village.
David Allen who now lives in the United States,
was my contemporary, and kept a daily diary while
he was in Kuling. I will quote a few entries from his
the old church where we had a Christmas service and didn't have to dream of a white
Christmas because there it was all around us.
Even as a twelve to fourteen year old
there was a stupendous sense of awe,
not only at the formidable magic of this
new world that had been created
through a covering of snow, but also
amazed and fascinated as I observed
the winter dead trees which now had
found new life with snow along the top
of every branch and icicles hanging
from below to form nature's Christmas
trees - far more beautiful than any trees
that had been taken indoors and
decorated.
The Chefoo School always had a full program of leisure activities and sports. There
were the annual athletics as well as a choice of a number of other sporting activities.
The list included soccer, softball, hockey, tennis and cricket. There was also an
active program for scouts and guides, and a lot of wonderful places to hike.
Jiang Kaishek had built a holiday residence for his wife in Kuling, and one day I met
them. It happened like this. On one of our hikes three of us were wandering along a
pathway just enjoying the freedom of being able to do something that was not under
the watchful eye of our teachers. We saw a snake beside the road and with some
excitement were able to kill it. We had just completed this gruesome task when
along came a small group of Chinese people, who stopped to see what we were so
excited about. It didn’t take us long to realise that two of these people were Jiang
and Madame Jiang. She spoke excellent English and talked to us for a while before
both groups moved on in their own directions.
When the communists crossed the Yangzi and became our new government in 1948,
There were a couple of nights when the Government forces under Jiang Kaishek fled
south and the communist forces had not yet arrived, creating a hiatus when
lawlessness could abound. Fortunately nothing happened to us in that time.
However on both nights we heard the persistent
clang of cymbals and the crash of drums,
“Contour Path” follows accompanied by bursts of firecrackers, as local
the side of the mountain people did what they always did to keep evil spirits
from our school to away. Our new masters took over with little
change to our routine except that we had Miss
Mao come in and teach compulsory Chinese to all
of us, and we were more restricted in our ability to
roam around the mountain. We did hear that the
heads of some “brigands” had been displayed for a
number of days in the main street of the village.
David Allen who now lives in the United States,
was my contemporary, and kept a daily diary while
he was in Kuling. I will quote a few entries from his
