I'm way behind on writing and posting--we are now in Guilin and have had an amazing time here climbing up the rice terraces and going on a fabulous white water rafting trip. I'll have to share about that later, but here is my next journal parts:
July 16, 2013 Summer Palace and Acrobats
Christopher has done a great job of learning the subway
system here in Beijing. I’ve been to the
Summer Palace before with the China tours and Christopher and I went by taxi last
time. This time, Chris finds a subway
route which takes us right up to the gate.
To get there does take three changes of lines, but now the kids are
experts too. I know after yesterday that
we need to buy tickets as we board at the first station and not try to buy
ahead for the next trip. I did that
yesterday and then we couldn’t use those tickets in a different station for the
return trip. We’ve also learned that we
look for a line that isn’t too busy (actually, there isn’t a line, it is more
like a clump in front of each door) and then when the doors open, we let the
people out, then quickly shove our way inside.
Most of the time, we don’t get a seat and stand in the middle. We’ve learned to balance as the train goes by
standing sideways.
We get cold water bottles cheap outside and I manage to buy
the tickets to go in. Luckily, although
there are many people there, the lines aren’t crazy to get tickets the way they
were at the Forbidden City. We enter a
place that is different from what I remember.
There is a waterway with boats going alongside and shops on two
stories. It reminds me of the River Walk
in San Antonio. The kids are a bit
cranky and we stop to buy popsicles, which have a coconut banana flavor that I
remember from when Chris and I bought some at Tiananmen square last trip.
We see the Marble Boat, which is being restored and so is
wrapped up in green like all the buildings which are being built in China. I get us lost in going around but Christopher
finds the long pathway. Like all of the
Chinese tourists, the kids mostly just want to sit and look around but
Christopher and I take a stroll to really look at the paintings. I notice a variety of styles, from very
ornate paintings which seem to depict legends, to stylized fish, birds and
flowers. There are some black and white
paintings and a number of paintings of scenes around the Summer Palace. I notice there is a crane at the top of each
middle section. I’d love to know the
stories behind the paintings. Later, I
find a book about them at one of the shops, but all the explanations are in
Chinese. I also see a restaurant which
serves recipes from all the old Imperial dishes.
We don’t aim quite that high and go to a small noodle joint
close to the long corridor. It is busy
and they actually sort of clear away a family for us. We have this happen other times in China too. It is a little embarrassing, but we were glad
to be able to sit down together and eat.
We get some very good dumplings, steamed buns and noodle soup. Generally, people seem to order one dish a
person, but we generally like to share and have some of everything. Since we don’t get plates outside of what the
dishes come in this sort of becomes a problem.
Either we have to eat from the same dish or else improvise. In this case, I use some plastic bags for
putting the food on. The steamed buns
are rapidly becoming a family favorite. We are also appreciating the difference
between homemade noodles and store bought ones. We have to order some more
buns. The whole meal is around $10 for
all of us. Then we leave when another
family arrives and sits down in Steffi’s seat when she was up putting some
trash out.
On the way out of the Palace we see a sign “Mind the Hills”
and take a picture. I say that is my
spiritual lesson for the day, I need to pay attention to the hills along the
way and “mind” them so that I keep on track.
After rest and a dinner of buns from our favorite 7-11 store
across the way, we head in a van to the acrobats. Along the way, we have a great time visiting
with a young man from Germany and an Australian. We also meet an 18 year old German girl who
is traveling all alone on her first overseas trip. We are astounded at the number of young
European girls traveling here in China.
I actually can’t imagine sending my daughter on a trip by herself. The Australian man was quite an adventurer. He told us about the many places he had been,
saying the the people of Burma and India were the ones he liked best because
they always laughed at everything. He
also surprised me by saying that he was planning to get a root canal done in
China because it was much cheaper than in Australia. Having just undergone that myself, I’m not
entirely sure I’d want to go a cheaper route.
We were glad to share who we are and what we are doing in China with
more Europeans.
At the theater, we are surprised to find it entirely filled
with groups of school kids. Even though
we are attending a 7:30 showing, it is apparently a popular place for kids to
go on a special trip. The whole
atmosphere is like a carnival. They are
selling glow sticks, glo devil’s horns and clown wigs, as well as popcorn. Unfortunately, the kids are not well behaved
and we find that they make a lot of noise during the performance, and aren’t
particularly appreciative of it either.
However, we do have a lot of fun before the performance when a group of
pre-teens sitting in front of us want to take pictures of Brendan. After a few of these, Christopher decides to
tell the girls that Brendan is a famous movie star. Then, inspired by the posters we’ve seen on
the subway for a Cirque de Soleil performance of “Michael Jackson’s World
Tour,” we tell the girls that Brendan is “Michael Jackson.” In a few moments, a girl pulls out her
notebook and asks for an autograph.
Brendan signs “Michael Jackson” while we laugh. Pretty soon, the adult in charge of the girls
comes to hush them down and the show starts.
amazing. They do
balancing acts, a chain act where two men swing around and balance on one
another perfectly, three women balancing glasses and moving their bodies in
incredible and seemingly impossible positions.
The Chinese Yo-Yo act was not quite a good, but the same group of girls
did an excellent bicycle balancing act which eventually has about 20 girls all
balancing on one girl riding a bike. The
crowning act, however, came when they bought out a big ball. A motorcyclist came out and rode all around
the ball on the inside. That was
spectacular, especially when they turned out the lights and all you could see
was the lights on the bike. Then they
added a second bike and the two bikes rode around in opposite directions. That seemed spectacular enough, but they kept
on going. Eventually, they had 5
motorcyclists riding around in impossible patterns in the ball. Quite something to see. As we left, our bus went past the whole
downtown area. It was packed with
people. Living in a big city is
different than Waco!
July 17 South tower,
Wangfuging, night market
After a late night, we let everyone sleep in a while. By now we have become seasoned subway
riders. Everyone knows how to put their
bags through security, grab their ticket, scan it at the turnstile and then
move to wait for the subway train. When
it arrives, you move to the side to let the people off and then quickly shove
the whole family on. Usually, we stand
for the whole ride. It helps that most
of us a pretty tall and can grab the top rails easily. We watch the map by the door which blinks
lights to tell you which station you are at and which station you are going
towards. When you arrive, the light on
the side of the door tells you which door to exit. “Kearney family out” is the signal, and we
all rush out to the platform, gathering plenty of looks and stares along the
way. We usually have to stop and figure
out which way we need to exit.
Christopher’s understanding of Chinese characters has helped us out a
lot. Although I took the lead in making
most of our travel arrangements, it has been a huge relief to me that he has
taken the lead in actually leading us around the city. He and Brendan and Maggie (who also have more
written Chinese than I do) work together to figure out the map, the bus and
subway system and our directions.
One of our prayers for this trip was that we would pull
together as a family and really learn to work together. I can really see that as different children
take the lead to say something cheerful when something goes wrong, or volunteer
to help another one out.
This time, we go to the south of Tiananmen square to visit a
tower that Christopher and I had found by accident the last time we
visited. It gives a nice view of the
whole square and has a lot of historical information about the area inside
which helps to put this area in perspective.
I like the old photographs which show the city when it had a wall. This tower was part of the original wall, but
when Beijing no longer needed a defensive wall, they took it down to make the
movement of traffic and people easier.
The next city we will visit, Xian, has retained the old wall.
Inside, we look at the exhibits and climb upward on stairs
that are very steep. Maggie talks with a
painting instructor there who explains to her about the different techniques of
Chinese painting and paints her name for her.
We have him do a painting of Steffi’s name and buy two paintings done by
his students. Outside, we find a bench
which happens to be exactly the same bench we have in our garden. Of course, we think, it was made in China!
Looking out from the tower, you can see Mao’s mausoleum, the
front gates of the Forbidden City, the Railroad Station and the Capital
Museum. You also get an excellent view
of the square. We’ve seen many people just
walking around there in family groups or standing and watching at the
front.
We go back on the subway and head up to Wanfujing
Avenue. Here we split up into the people
who want to visit the Apple Store and those who want to visit the huge Forever
21 store. We notice that the prices of
the items are about the same as in the U.S.
We then meet up back at the English Language bookstore where everyone
finds some books to look at. As we
leave, we go around the corner to look at the famous Night Market, which is a
street full of food vendors who do local treats. They have caramelized fruit, dumplings, fried
donut type foods, big rolled omelets, kebabs of meat and kebabs of various
insects: cockroaches, tarantulas, and scorpions. There are also octopus on a stick and a
variety of other things we can’t exactly identify. We try a few, but we are a little concerned
about eating food that might disagree with us, so we mostly just look. Mollie doesn’t like the fish smells. A lot of the foods we eat do seem to have a
fishy taste to them. I think it may be
because they are cooked in at least a little bit of fish oil. After a while of looking, we head back home
to rest and enjoy the conversation and atmosphere of the commons area at our
hostel.
We are leaving early tomorrow, so we need to be careful to
pack up. Astoundingly, I seem to have no
end of trouble about losing things this day.
I lose my room key. I lose
Maggie’s camera. I lose a locker
key. I finally have to tell people to
stop giving me things to keep! I find
everything but the locker key, which I’m able to replace for just 10 yuan
(about $1.50). We get packed up and go
to bed early.
July 18, 2013, Fly to
Xian
We get up at 4:00 to get ready to leave at 5:00. Amazingly, we do seem to get everything
packed up and we are ready when the van driver comes. We are there in plenty of time to find out
luggage check in line and we get to our gate about an hour ahead of the
flight. Everyone else sits down to wait
but I like to explore, so I walk around the airport a bit. I find that they give out drinking water and
cups. Buying water and drinks is also
very inexpensive from the machines, unlike at an American airport (about 2 yuan
for water (30 cents) or 5 yuan for a bottle of coke ( 85 cents).
We take a shuttle bus over to our plane and the older people
seem to like Steffi. The people here
tend
The flight is
uneventful except that, unlike American flights, we get two meals during a five
hour trip, and have to disembark and then reboard the same airplane when we
make a stop. I panic a bit when I
realize I’ve misplaced Steffi’s and Sophie’s tickets. Will they let us back on the plane? Luckily, we are so evidently foreigners that
we often get a bit more grace. They want
us to get off the plane so they can clean it, so they assure us we will be let
back on. Since we are the only
non-Asians on the plane it won’t be hard to miss us, I suppose.
We had hoped that someone from the hostel would be there
with a van to pick us up, but I had not confirmed the residervation and so when
we don’t see anyone, we find the shuttle bus that takes us downtown. We get on and off of that easily, but do have
a bit of a stressful time when we get off the shuttle and aren’t sure the way
to the hotel. It is crowded, I’m worried about my luggage and the escalators
aren’t working so we have to drag our suitcases up the stairs.
Christopher does a
great job of guiding us, but it is a pretty hot day and I haven’t secured my
luggage very well for moving over the streets.
It feels like it takes forever to get to the hostel and I lose my
patience and feel annoyed. I panic again
wondering if I’ve chosen a good place to stay?
Ironically, as we retraced that same path leaving Xian, I
realized that the distance wasn’t far at all.
This second time, I knew where we were going and I had prepared better
for the distance by tying my suitcases together and packing more
carefully. The spiritual lesson I took
from this is that I need to be is patient when the way seems difficult. Sometimes the difficulty is really more about
my own perspective or lack of preparation, or maybe just because it is
something new which is stretching me and making me grow. I need to remember that I will often look
back on that time and realize that it wasn’t as hard as I had perceived it to
be.
July 19 (Terra Cotta Warriors)
We all had a great night’s sleep. Even so, everyone was a little grumpy in my
room and saying they were tired and really just wanted to stay in the
room. They wondered why we were away all
summer. Chris and I have definitely seen
that vacation moods go in cycles. You
have to expect that people in a family, especially a family as big as ours, are
not always going to be happy all the time.
As parents, we know that sometimes it helps to stop and get something to
eat, maybe a treat. Or sometimes, you
just have to get them to keep on going because you know that in just a short
white there will be something they will be excited about. This morning, I was so glad to have Chris
come in the room with a funny story.
He’d just met a French family in the lobby and found out that they
needed help. They didn’t know any
Chinese and they didn’t even know much English.
Not enough to communicate with the hotel staff anyway. He had helped them to ask some questions
about touring. We marveled at a family
brave enough to travel to China by themselves when they only knew French (which
isn’t exactly extensively studied here!)
We realized how lucky we are to be native English speakers.
We could have taken a tour to the Terra Cotta Warriors, but
Chris has figured out how to get there on the bus, so we decide to give it a
try. It was a great decision. We find the first bus pretty quickly, and
enjoy paying just 1 yuan (about 30 cents) to ride it. We remembered paying a lot more to ride a double decker bus in San
Francisco a couple of years ago! The bus
drops us off at the train station, which is where we need to catch the bus to
the Terra Cotta Warriors. There are so
many people at the train station!
Everyone has suitcases. We
finally go to the line of buses and find a lot of people in line. We manage to figure out this is one of the
lines of buses to the Warriors. It is
hot, so we pull out our umbrellas. They
work great! I may start using one in
Waco in the summer! I’d taken them for
rain, but it doesn’t rain all day. Even
so, they were well worth hauling around to keep protected from the sun when we
were in line. Eventually we get on and
sit in the back. The ride is air
conditioned and very comfortable. The
only problem is that the attendant wants us to have Steffi sit on a lap. We try to explain we will pay for her ticket,
and eventually she gives in. The tickets
cost 7 yuan, or just a little over $1 each.
When we eventually get tickets to see the Warriors, we find that we only
need to buy them for me and Chris, so the whole trip ends up costing about
$65. If we’d gone on a tour, it would
have cost $326. We could have paid that,
but we wouldn’t have had any better of an experience since you really don’t
need a guide once you get there, and going on our own let us take the museum at
our own pace.
Just off the bus, we found a small restaurant to eat
at. We ordered a variety of very good
noodle, bun and fried rice dishes, along with an excellent vegetable dish. Amazingly, even though we’ve been pretty
brave in our eating, everyone has been feeling well. Chris is the only one who has had any tummy
issues and they haven’t been too bad. We
even find filtered water to fill up our bottles. The meal costs 120 yuan, or about $20.
Heading toward the Warriors, the kids enjoy looking at the
street sellers. We eventually buy a few
things. Sophie gets a folk art backpack,
Maggie buys two folk art stuffed animals, Brendan and Steffi get mini Terra
Cotta warriors, and we buy three kites.
We watch the movie about the warriors and then look at all
three of the pits. I explain what I
remember reading about from a book about the Warriors that I read on the way
home last trip. Along with the plaques
in the museum, I think the kids got as much information as they wanted. Chris jokes that each of the kids needs to
find a warrior that they name. Steffi
and Brendan take some funny pictures near some jade Warriors.
Chris and I wonder about the individual features of each
figure. They really do seem to be real
people. I notice that even the hairs are
clearly molded on the heads. Was being
made a warrior an honor? Did it mean
that these men would be with their emperor in the afterlife? I’m amazed that after conquering China,
building the Great Wall and ruling everything around him that nothing he did on
earth was satisfying to this powerful man.
He knew death was coming. He was
afraid. Death is something we ignore a
lot in our world. Yet just like Qin, we
all will have to face it.
We have a smooth trip home and I enjoy again looking out the
window of the bus and imagining the lives of the people I pass. How different they are from me, and yet they
have the same fears, needs, desires, hopes and dreams. I try to pray for different individuals as I
pass by. It is a sort of prayer by
bus. I notice many of the grandmas who
are taking care of a shop and also taking care of a grandchild, who is often
sitting on a stool by the door. I
remember the very old grandma, who looks perhaps as if she has dementia, who is
sitting a ways outside a shop, watching the passersby. I wonder if her son or daughter brings her
there each day when they go to work, to give her something to do. I notice a man on a motorcycle who is
carefully using his feel to hold on to eight cartons of 24 eggs as he drives
along, probably to a place he will sell them.
I see a family of four, walking along contentedly. So many people. I know so little about them, but I remember
that God knows them as intimately as he knows me. I can pray that he will speak to them and
bring them to himself, though the witness of people around them and through
signs, dreams, visions and his word.
We get back to town and take the double decker bus up the
shopping center. We treat the family to
McDonalds. It is actually cheaper than
the States. We get a meal for 7 for
under $20. We get small ice cream cones
afterwards and look at the bell tower and drum tower as they are lit up for the
night. Birds swoop around them eating
insects. We go through the underground
tunnels to find our way back to the hostel.
Chris plays pool and ping pong and cards with Steffi and
Sophie. I take a shower and then head
out to catch up on journaling. I listen
to “I’m leaving on a jet plane” and “Blowing in the Wind” while various
Europeans and others pass me by in the lobby. This hostel is bigger and a bit less intimate
but there are more commons areas and the décor is very new and beautifully
done. Best of all, there is free hot and
cold water on every floor. However, they
do seem to allow some smoking and I’m smelling it now, so I think I’d better
turn in for the night.
July 20 The Nestorian Steele and Shopping in China
If you like shopping, then China offers endless
opportunities. After all, just about
everything we have in America is “made in China.” Yet, as tourists, we mostly want souveniers
which are unique to China and not just something we could get at a mall back
home. How can you take home something to
remind you of your trip? Last trip, Chris
and I had discovered a street in Xian which sells lots of unique Chinese items,
so since our crew was itching to shop, we headed down there. We had lots of fun looking and lots of fun
buying too. The single “weapons” cart
was the most popular. Steffi, Mollie and Brendan bought an assortment of
daggers and swords, while Sophie got a crossbow which shoots pencils (with
rubber tips). Maggie got jade jewelry and purses for friends. Christopher got a jade turtle and an instrument
he actually was able to play. We had
lots of fun looking and bargaining too, although we generally have followed the
idea that my dad told me, “you need to pay people a living wage,” meaning that
you don’t want to cheat people and people deserve to get a decent price for
their goods and services. So if the item
was worth the price asked to us, we paid it without bargaining. If nothing else, this trip has deeply
impressed us with how very much wealth we have compared to other people. I was actually glad to be able to buy goods
from some of the people who didn’t seem to be getting a lot of other
business. Maybe that would help them
take care of their families. We had one
funny problem. There was an older man in
charge of a booth selling some stuffed folk art toys. The girls wanted them for themselves and
friends, but when I went over to ask him the price “Do Shou Chen?” I realized
he was asleep. I tried again but he didn’t
wake up. So we went on and waited until
we came back out, when we found him awake and more than happy to sell us the
items for 10 yuan each (about $1.60).
Lots of thing are 10 yuan, I guess because it is an easy amount to ask
for.
Along the way, we met a Chinese college student named Grace
who wanted to practice talking to us in English. She told us that she has volunteered to be a
guide in Xian to practice her English but that there are not that many English
speaking tourists. It is true that we are
not seeing as many Europeans or Americans here as in Beijing. She and Maggie exchange contact information.
One other thing I wanted to show the children is in this
area at the Forest of Steeles museum. It
is the Nestorian Steele, which is a record of the first Christian community in
China. The Steele (which like all the
others is a large stone tablet about 3 feet by 6 feet which is covered in
Chinese Writing) was lost for many years and the story of this early
Christianity was forgotten in other historical documents. However, it records that in around 600-700 AD
there were Christians who came to China and converted a number of people and had
influence at the court. When the emperor
who supported the Christians was overthrown, the Christians disappeared. How provocative to know that Chinese people
had the opportunity to know and embrace Christianity so early. How important to understand that Christianity
has a longstanding presence here.
The Steele rests on a very large stone turtle pedestal,
which Maggie said symbolized longevity.
At the top of the Steele is a small carved cross. The day is hot and I know the kids are not
all that interested in the rest of the museum, but I wanted them to see this
symbol of their faith and symbol of the persistence of Christians in the past
in China.
What future does God have for China and the Chinese
people? How do the adopted girls figure
into what God is doing with the people of China? I know that for our family, adoption means
that China is now a part of our family and our culture. I remind the kids that according to some
figures, 1 out of 10 people in China is now a Christian. Those are large numbers and may be rather
exaggerated, but even with much smaller numbers, it means that everyday we are
passing many, many Christians. We can
pray for them to grow in faith and to be effective in their witness here.
July 21 Shaanxi Museum and Wild Goose Pagoda (or, what
happens when you get on the bus going the wrong direction?)
Luckily, it is cooler and rainy today. We hang around the hostel in the morning and
then head out to the Shaanxi Museum in the afternoon. The bus is very crowded and so are the lines
at the museum, however, I’d learned ahead of time that you can pay a nominal
fee rather than waiting in line for the free tickets. So I find the line for that, show our passports
and get our tickets to go in. Even so,
this is Sunday and the museum is very crowded with visitors. Still, we are able to show the kids come of
the major events and artifacts of Chinese history. Even Steffi finally is interested in the
brass bells of all different sizes which are hung in rows and hit with a stick
to make tones like a xylophone. We see
the exhibit which shows that the Lords before Qin, who made the Terracotta
Warriors buried live horses and men in their graves. We see a movie and artifacts showing the
start of the silk road by a group of 100 men who are gone for 17 years with
only 2 returning alive. We see the lives
of the emperors and their courts and see the 3 inch gold disks that they used
to store their wealth. We also see how
as each group gained power, they thought quickly about what would happen to
them when they died. The question
Christianity answers has always been on the mind of anyone who actually achieves
power, success and fame.
We leave when the museum closes. On the way out, Sophie and I head to the
bathroom and as we walk in there is a big crash. It sounds like a large porcelain dish
breaking. Then we see a woman calmly
walking out of a bathroom stall while parts of the toilet fall out behind her
in pieces. We look at each other. Her purse or something must have knocked over
the top of the toilet, but she was acting like nothing had happened!
We walk over a couple of blocks and find the Wild Goose
Pagoda. Before seeing it, we decide to
eat at the “Best Noodle Restaurant.” We
have a great meal and enjoy talking with one another, although for part of the
time everyone is on their electronic devices except for mom, who is taking
pictures of everyone on their ipods or ipads.
The meal is really good food and we’ve finally decided our best bet is
to eat out at a sit down restaurant once a day and then have bread, snacks and sandwiches
that we can buy and eat on our own for the other meals.
After dinner we head over to the Pagoda and find out that
there is a large area in front of it that is full of fountains and waterfalls
and lots of people. One of the people at
the hostel had told me there was a music program with dancing and lights
starting at 9:00 but that is too late for us, so we just plan to stay a while
to watch the fountains and people who are all taking lots of pictures,
especially “fun” pictures where they make it look like someone is holding up
the Pagoda. There is even a man there
selling pictures like that. There are
people flying kites up very high, and later we find out these kites have lights
on them which looks really amazing in the sky.
I’ve never seen kites up so high.
What really attracts the girls is a woman who is blowing big
bubbles that float through the air and another woman who is selling ribbons for
ribbon dancing. They all want one, and
then become that woman’s best sales team by twirling them around the plaza and
having a great time. Mollie is
especially good at thinking of new ways to twirl around and patterns to
make. After a while some of the lights
start appearing and more people are coming.
We decide it is time for us to head back. Looking for things to eat for breakfast, we
head over to something labeled “Supermarket” but that ends up being a
disappointment. We get bottles of water
there and then look for the bus. On the
way, the kids see someone selling “Beats” ear phones for 10 yuan.
Brendan had seen these earlier and told me he wanted them, so we’d been
looking for them. He tells the girls
that these sell for $100 or more in the U.S. and are considered very cool. We figure these are probably knock-offs or factory
rejects, but at under $2.00 it seems worth it.
After quickly getting several, we hop on the bus which Chris has just
seen coming. It does seem to me as we
get on that we might be going the wrong direction, but I’ve been wrong several
times on this trip, so I am very happy to have Chris being in charge of this
job of getting us around.
We start heading around the pagoda. That is the opposite direction of our
hostel. We keep on heading South. We want to go North. We do see some of the light show and a very
amazing mall which seemed to have a ceiling
which projected all kinds of scenes. Then we see an amusement park. Then, the bus stops and we are all told to
get off. This is definitely not our
stop. So, what do you do when you go the
wrong way on the bus? Chris goes to talk
to the driver and is told to get back on the next bus. Apparently, this was the break time for that
driver, but the other driver on the route leaves in just a few minutes . One more step of faith. I explain to Mollie, who is our child who always
worries about things closing and being left behind, that a bus route is a
circle, so that if we just keep on going, we should eventually get to where we
want to go. I hope this is true. I’m pretty sure this is true.
So we get back on and keep on going. At this point, we have now seen a lot of the
city we didn’t know about. Eventually,
we get back to the Wild Goose Pagoda, which is now starting the light show and
music. We breathe a great sigh of relief
when we find ourselves passing the bus stop we were supposed to take. Chris talks with the driver about our stop
and he promises to tell us when to get off.
I praise Mollie for being so calm and conquering her fears. It isn’t just me who is learning that God is
with us and will take care of us.
We get to see the Bell Tower area all in lights. The sight is a beautiful ending to the day.
July 22 Bampo Museum
It is raining a bit today as we head for the Bampo Museum,
so the weather is cooler and the walk is pleasant. We start the trip by finding a restaurant in a
hotel near our hostel. This is a fancy
place where the waiters give us our napkins and we sit together around a large
round table. There aren’t many other
people in the place and we enjoy ordering from the menu which includes all
kinds of fancy things. We’ve learned to
try to get things the kids would like first, but Chris and I usually pick
something for ourselves. This time we
get a dish which is served in a carved pumpkin.
It comes out looking lovely, with an orchid on the side. It is supposed to be a seafood dish and after
trying it, we decide what they meant by seafood was sea cucumber or something
like that. There are definitely things
which seem like mushrooms in it. Christopher
really doesn’t like mushrooms, and I like them, but can’t eat too much of the
dish. We fare better with most of the
other things but the food does take a while to arrive since it seems like it is
being cooked from scratch just for us.
We are also surprised at the huge portions of everything. We eat a lot and everyone gets full, but we
leave a lot behind.
The trip out the
museum is the most crowded bus we’ve been on yet. I’m actually just barely in the door and two
people are behind me on the stairs of the bus!
The driver keeps on telling people to move back but they can’t. The ride is pretty slow and we finally pass
the first accident we’ve seen in China, really just a fender bender. The lack of accidents seems amazing based on
the crazy way people drive with only a few inches to spare. Maggie comments that they are really good
drivers, and that is true because they seem to be able to negotiate spaces I
can’t even imagine trying. She and I saw
a car parked completely straight in between two trees with only about 10 inches
to spare on either side. How did they do
that?
The bus leaves us off right in front of the museum which is
great. Unlike the Terra Cotta Warriors,
which let the kids in free, the lady at this museum decides to charge full
price because they don’t have Chinese student cards. However, when we finally look at the tickets,
we realize that she charged half price for our two “Chinese” girls. The museum is a bit expensive but there are
no crowds, so our tour is much more pleasant than yesterday. They’ve finished the exhibits they were still
working on when we were here before and the kids enjoy the interactive book
which lets you motion to turn the electronic pages. They also like the holograph showing the
making of tools in 3-D.
The Bampo were Neolithic people who lived in this area about
6,000 years ago. They had an extensive
settlement which had agriculture, fishing, possibly some domestication of
animals along with hunting and a fairly sophisticated pottery making ability. Their houses were made of sticks covered with
a mud/straw mixture which was then hardened by fire. They did cooking by using steaming pots and
had some musical instruments as well as pottery decorated with black
paint. The exhibit talks about them being
a matriarchal culture but we couldn’t figure out the evidence for that.
In the actual exhibit area, the kids enjoyed watching the
movies which explained how they built the houses and what they guessed the
society was like. Just like yesterday, I
go around mostly with Steffi and Christopher goes with Mollie. Sophie and Maggie hang around together and
Brendan scouts around on his own.
We enjoy the rain, the pond outside with beautiful water
lilies and small Koi. Just as we have
been doing most days, we buy some ice cream as we get ready to leave. There are small stores all over China which
sell drinks and ice cream and sometimes other assorted groceries. We’ve gotten used to the brands. The prices vary from 1-2 yuan to 10-15 yuan
at some museums. I don’t always get
something but this time I see a Mango popcicle.
It is wonderful mashed mango which is frozen. In just a few minutes our bus arrives. We are some of the first people on the bus
this time, so we all get seats for the trip back.
In China, you learn to enjoy the little things like a cool
popscycle, a seat on the bus, no crowds, and knowing your way home. I also am very relieved when things go as
planned. When we get back to the hotel,
we are able to get our train tickets for tomorrow and find that our seats are
all close together.
Back at the hostel, we have the kids pack up while we try to
figure out exactly how to get from the train station in Changsha to our
hotel. I have finally realized that although
our hotel is called Motel 168 Railroad Station, it is not by the station we are
going to arrive at by bullet train.
I start to panic and second guess my hotel choice, looking
frantically around at other choices.
Finally, after a lot of internet searching and thinking, Christopher and
I realize that all of the hotels are in the area I’ve chosen for our
hotel. He reminds me not to second guess
myself. We decide to catch two taxis to
the hotel and Chris prepares both of our iPads with maps to the hotel.
July 23 Train Ride to Changsha
I had no idea that China was such a gorgeous country! Seeing the country from the bullet train from
Xian to Changsha is perhaps my favorite part of this trip. Everything is green and lush and the small,
beautifully tended farms go on and on.
Each small village is so picturesque and the small ponds and hills are
lovely. I had planned to get caught up
on my journal during this trip, but I end up spending the whole time looking
out the window and enjoying the scenes as they passed by. I was so sorry that my camera wasn’t working
since I had not gotten any good batteries, but I tried to make due with my cell
phone camera.
The bullet train is easy to get on and very comfortable to
ride. We carry all our own luggage on
with us, and getting into the station is easy.
In fact, we find we’ve come with plenty of time to spare. The station is very similar to an airport and
the clientele is too. The cost is
actually quite similar to flying but I’m looking forward to the experience of
seeing the countryside and I was right.
The kids have a good time talking, eating snacks and using
their devices. At one point, we realized
that we aren’t getting any food automatically.
Many of the people seem to be eating food they brought, another
difference from the airplane trips. I
remembered then that I’d read you were supposed to bring your own food on the
train but I had only brought some leftovers from breakfast. Brendan, who was hungriest, was sent on an
expedition to find food. He found a
dining car and I marched down with a couple of kids to see what we could
buy. We ended up buying all three of the
meals they offered. Bringing them back,
we offered them to the kids first. They
liked the rice and some of the meat, but did not touch the vegetables or the
fish. Christopher and I loved the
leftovers. The fish was very tasty and
the vegetables were good too. So
overall, we did pretty well.
After arriving in Changsha, we stopped at McDonalds to let
the kids have an ice cream and then braved the taxi area. We made the mistake of listening to some of
the “independents” who were trying to solicit our business. Finally I notice a line and we veer over there. That is the registered taxi line. After a short wait, we get our two
taxis. I show the driver the iPad
address and he takes off. We pass one
Hotel 168 and then I remember that there is more than one in town. I enjoy the ride around Changsha. It is evening and so all the lights are on
around town and the town looks newer, brighter and more modern and upbeat than
I remember from the adoption trip.
Our driver finally stops at another 168 Hotel and we get out
and I pay him a very reasonable 30 yuan.
Christopher is not there, but I assume he is coming, so I get in line to
check in. When the lady is waiting on
me, she seems concerned and indicates they don’t have a room. She keeps on telling me to call the number on
my reservation. I don’t understand. I don’t have a phone. Then the lady next to
me explains in English that I am at the wrong Hotel 168. She says that the same thing just happened to
her. She had been at the hotel I was
supposed to be at. I ask her to have the
lady write the correct address for me to show the driver and ask her where to
pick up another taxi. She tells me a
place right out in front of the hotel.
I explain that we are from a small city which doesn’t have
any taxis and she laughs. As we walk out
of the hotel, I remind the girls that we are so blessed to have God with
us. He gave us someone to help us just
when we needed it.
We go out in front (Maggie, Mollie and me) and immediately a
taxi drives right up. We get in and I
show him the address and he nods to show he knows where to go. We get to see
even more of the city as we go, but the trip is not far and Christopher and the
rest of the crew is very relieved when we show up.
The people at this hotel don’t seem to really have a record of my reservation, and I need to
explain to them that we are going to stay two nights rather than one
(Christopher’s Chinese graduate student Tommy had called the hotel and they had
said we just needed to ask when we arrived and we could do this). However, I’ve not gotten this far to be
turned away now. Eventually, they ask
for a deposit and give us keys to three rooms.
Success! At this point, I don’t
care what the rooms are like, I just want to relax. We find they haven’t given us double beds, but
everyone is all right except for Steffi.
She finally agrees to sleep with me in the largish twin bed. Everyone is delighted by the T.V. in the
rooms, the American, rather than European shower (glass door with something to
keep the water in the shower area and not all over the bathroom floor) and the
spaciousness of the rooms. There isn’t
any Wifi, but the lan line is fast and I let Sophie and Steffi play on my computer a bit.
We go next door for dinner and have an interesting mixture
of Western steaks and Chinese food. The
free rolls and juice are nice, but the custard which is sort of a beef taste
was a bit of a disappointment. The
steaks are served with spaghetti. We’ve
seen spaghetti a lot in China but it does have a different sort of taste to
it. The kids don’t like it too
much. We wonder if we can learn to say “plain
noodles with no sauce.” Generally, we
pass around the food we don’t like and try to get something for everyone.
All of us have had to move a long ways from our comfort zone
on this trip. Along the way, we’ve seen
the kids develop and learn to trust us, each other, and God more. They don’t always like the food, the poverty,
the smells or the discomfort of heat and walking. Frankly, neither do we. I’ve so realized my own inadequacy and how used I am to being a rich American. I know there is growing up I need to do.
