December 1, 2000

Today was another beautiful day and it’s definitely difficult to believe it is the first day of December.  Youmei sent me an e-mail the other day saying the snow has just begun in Minnesota and that “it bites” that there is so much more on the way.  Here in her hometown we are experiencing sunny days in the 70’s and 80’s.  Today was a little cooler than the 80 degrees we experienced yesterday, but it was still absolutely beautiful!

There are always so many highlights each day, and it is impossible to share them all.  Today however was made more special by the evening we all shared with Shuman.  Shuman Ho is more than an English teacher; he is a superb musician, a computer expert and an absolutely wonderful person.  I can find no better words to describe him than to say that he is a beautiful human being.  To say that he is a tender man who is concerned so much about other people would not be enough.  Each time he plays another piece on one of his many instruments he talks about his hopes that each person in the world could build great friendships and as a consequence the people of the world can avoid further wars and conflicts.  Being in his presence brings a feeling of peace and tranquility.

Pat, Doug, Rosie and Sandy you may remember Shuman from the performance we all attended at the Xi Jiang campus.  He was the person who played a wonderful piece on the accordion.

After playing playing the piano, Shuman once again pulled out the accordion.  Then he even played Andy’s electric guitar.  I wonder if there is any instrument that he cannot play!  He asked Andy to bring his guitar and the two of them played together.  First Andy played solo and then they joined together, Andy on the guitar and Shuman on the piano.  After Andy played a song or two then we had our own private piano concert.  He played several pieces by Chopin, Beethoven and others but my favorite had to be his own personal composition.  It was a song that he had written for his wife a couple years ago for Valentine’s Day.

He explained that the two of them were classmates in college and he titled the song “Memories.” He said that he explained to his wife that any man could give her flowers on Valentines Day, but only he could write a song that expressed his love.   The piece was my favorite because as I watched him and listened to the sweet melody I could hear the love he had put into the piece.

A couple weeks ago he explained to all of us that his father had named him Shuman after the composer Robert Shuman.  His father had hoped that he too would become a great musician.  Tonight he further explained that his father too was a musician and he gained most of his musical knowledge from his talented father.  As he grew up, Shuman wasn’t well off and because of that he feels that he was not accepted into an art/music college.  After being turned down, his father told him that he hoped that instead of being a student in such a college, that someday he would be a teacher instead.  He actually sees this as his long-term goal.  He has mastered several instruments but he is currently learning the Chinese instrument called the Gujung (sp?).  Within two years time, he believes he will achieve one of the highest levels allowing him to be a music teacher at a University.  He could then use his musical talents and his English skills together.  He would like to perform in other countries and presumably use his music as a medium for peace.  He could also publish books in English that will bring Chinese music further west.

After our private concert the students went home but I stayed for a little while longer.  Earlier in the week, Shuman and his class hosted a party for us and he asked me to take digital pictures so that he could e-mail them to his students.  He is teaching the 2000 students (those who just started this fall).  Their curriculum does not include computer training.  He believes it should, and being an expert in computers he is teaching them how to make a personal web page.  So before I went home we downloaded the pictures to his PC.

It was truly a wonderful evening and I only regret that I have so little time to spend with such a wonderful person before I leave here in just under three weeks.  I do know that I will have a great friend on the other side of the world who I hope to meet again someday.