In Chinese, "jing zu" literally means "to honor ancestors." In recent years, many people have observed this practice not by the traditional means (visiting the graves of the departed, giving offerings for their welfare in the after life), but by constructing memorials in cyberspace.
Although not our forefather in a literal sense, spiritually Zhang Damu occupies a place in our hearts that makes this tribute not only appropriate but necessary. Therefore, we practice "jingzu" with these pages--dedicating them to Teacher Zhang and honoring our family as a whole.
Recently we were saddened by the loss of another member of our DLI family. Our friend and classmate Dabet (Marrero) Velez. Dabet fought breast cancer for the past year and a half, but over the past few months it spread very rapidly. She passed away on February 16, 2008. Dabet is survived by her husband Javier (a Master Chief Spanish Linguist) and their seven year old son.
I was very impressed by your tribute to Zhang Damu Laoshi. I was his student in 1986-87 at Monterey and considered him to be the best teacher I've ever had. It is altogether fitting that his students pay homage to this great man. He loved his students and I, for one, will never forget him.
Phillip Hoover
Hu Feili
New York, NY
I love the idea of a jingzu for Zhang Damu! He was truly an amazing man, and the main reason I survived DLI. I remember a couple of phrases he used to throw at me in his own special English (my apologies for the vulgarity), and I still use them regularly even now.
The first he used often in describing the way I studied. He would say “You study like a goat shit…a little here…a little there…all over the place!” and then he would laugh and make me work harder.
The next, my personal favorite, was when he describe anything difficult by saying “It’s like you no drink water for 10 days…you try to shit…it’s very hard.”
He was the one teacher that believed in me while I was in Monterey, and were it not for him, I never would have made it. I feel as though I owe him a great deal, and will certainly never forget him. Thanks for doing this! It is a great thing to remember him in this way!
Brian Kane
Gan Buyuan
Columbia, MD
I had had some Chinese training when I got to DLI so I was placed in a class already in progress (about 4 months along). Only 1 week after I began attending class, the class went on a weeklong break and I was stuck at DLI with no leave to burn doing class time by myself all day.
I had plenty to work on and got to a point where I knew enough to know I needed clarification on a point of grammar. It was something about the way the guy who emptied ONLY the aluminum cans from the classroom trash cans looked at me that told me he was more than a janitor. He even gave me wistful looks like "I won't bother you, but I'm here if you need me." So, I finally asked for help and he filled the chalkboard with explanation.
Zhang was never on the teaching team for my class but I talked to him in the halls and on the picnic benches between buildings many times listening to his stories.
Kaylie Horch
Frederick, MD
