We have been in Yangshuo since the 22nd. It was a total shock to arrive to the intense heat and humidity here after our travels around the cool of the Yunnan province, especially the mountains of Zhongdian. Sunday- Tues were particularly intense and we were taking up to 4 cold showers a day to calm our systems. Mike and I tend to be pretty active people and used to being out all day in our travels, so it's been surprising to do about one big activity a day and then be completely exhausted... in fact, on Monday, I got a migrane due to the heat, but was rescued by a copious amount of ibuprofin. Unfortunately, I could not see much of the views from our boat cruise due to the visual blindness from the migrane.
Tuesday was a highlight- we rented bicycles and cycled around the countryside... the movement on the bikes providing a most welcome breeze... the scenery here really is lovely- limestone formations, huge bamboo, rivers galore, and the down town of Yangshuo is very charming- lots of bridges and is fairly small.
The last two days we have had HUGE rainstorms in the afternoon and that seems to have done wonders for cooling the air a tad. In fact, yesterday, while visiting the Longji rice terraces outside of Guilin, we were caught in a downpour. I could not have been more wet if I had thrown myself in the river with all of my clothes and shoes on (very nice for the 3 hour ride back to Yangshuo- at least it was warm water!) It was incredible- like a river unleashed from the sky- pummeling our heads and creating rivers of the streets... complete with crashing thunder and flashes of ligtening.... we were grateful to not be caught in any landslides. The river was raging during the storm... it was really cool to watch from the saftey of the shore. The Yao women of the village kept trying to sell me ponchos and cheered me on as I raced from the terraces, down the cobbled path, to our mini van! To then be greeted by our driver for the day with much exclimations in Chinese :)
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Shangri-La (formerly known as Zhongdian)
Following our gorgeous hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge, we arranged a trip from the Gorge through Baishutai to Shangri-La. These mountains are quite dramatic. There are many peaks that raise about 14,000 and 15,000 feet. It reminded me quite a bit of the Rockies in Colorado. Lots of lush green valleys along the way. In Baishutai there is a tourist destination that lots of folks visit for the limestone terraces. I personally was not all that impressed by them. It was one of the rare times I thought my photos were more dramatic than actually seeing them in person. Some of my being underwhelmed had more to do with how they had maintained the site and how touristy it was. I was taken with the scenery all around us though. Huge peaks, green valleys and aside from the limestone terraces it was not overrun with tourists.
We had this fabulous meal at a local restaurant where our chinese speaking friends just went into the kitchen and looked at the produce and asked them to cook what looked good. I think our meal for the two of us came to about 32 RMB which is about 5 US dollars....and we had a lot of food.
After our great meal we drove the rest of the way to Zhongdian or what is now Shangrila. That's a story within itself! A few years back the city legally changed its name from Zhongdian to Shangri-La - named after the fictional city in James Hilton's book that was quite popular. Apparently the fictional city had some striking similarities to Zhongdian. They changed the name to promote tourism which apparently worked really well. It worked on us at least!
Shangri-la has that wonderful high mountain air. The city is at over 10,000 feet. Again reminded me of the Colorado mountains that I came to know so well during my time in college and beyond in Boulder. It's a gorgeous valley surrounded by spectacular mountain peaks. Once you get into the charming old town you can see this ginormous gold prayer wheel spinning around alongside a Tibetan Temple on a hill.
Old Town Shangrila is a smaller version of what we experienced in Lijiang- a pedestrian only cobblestone maze of shops, restaurants, and people.
Some highlights of our visit included a hike to a famous local Nixi Potter in a nearby village, exploring the huge Songzhalin (i might have spelled that wrong) Temple, and a hike to the top of a hill in town which gave us a great view of the valley.
One very entertaining sight was watching locals dance each night in the main square. I thought at first this was something just done for the benefit of tourists but apparently a not uncommon sight in many parks throughout China. A shopowner would turn his/her speaker out into the square and blast some local pop music and everyone would jump in and do what looked like our version of line dancing in a bar but this was in a circle in the main plaza. It was quite a fun sight of old, young, and of folks from a variety of different family backgrounds- Tibetan, Bai, and other ethnic minority backgrounds. The only way I knew this was from the traditional dress that many of the women were wearing. Chinese travelers also would join in for the dancing. We were told by Katie and Annelise that dancing in public parks in the evening is quite common. Seems like a nice tradition.
We had only 2 days in Shangri-la and really would have liked more. Seems like there is lots of great hiking to be done in this region.
From Shangri-la we flew back into Kunming for one last overnight with Annelise & Katie. We made the most of it by going to a goodbye party for some of the English teachers and then for an hour of KTV which is essentially Karaoke. Here you rent a private room. We went to a posh KTV where we had this very nice private room with a very high tech DVD Karaoke machine. We had a blast singing along to Billy Idol, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, and our very favorite- Total Eclipse of the Heart. After a late night we got a little sleep and got ready to fly on to Yangshuo. See Carol's posting for that update.
We had this fabulous meal at a local restaurant where our chinese speaking friends just went into the kitchen and looked at the produce and asked them to cook what looked good. I think our meal for the two of us came to about 32 RMB which is about 5 US dollars....and we had a lot of food.
After our great meal we drove the rest of the way to Zhongdian or what is now Shangrila. That's a story within itself! A few years back the city legally changed its name from Zhongdian to Shangri-La - named after the fictional city in James Hilton's book that was quite popular. Apparently the fictional city had some striking similarities to Zhongdian. They changed the name to promote tourism which apparently worked really well. It worked on us at least!
Shangri-la has that wonderful high mountain air. The city is at over 10,000 feet. Again reminded me of the Colorado mountains that I came to know so well during my time in college and beyond in Boulder. It's a gorgeous valley surrounded by spectacular mountain peaks. Once you get into the charming old town you can see this ginormous gold prayer wheel spinning around alongside a Tibetan Temple on a hill.
Old Town Shangrila is a smaller version of what we experienced in Lijiang- a pedestrian only cobblestone maze of shops, restaurants, and people.
Some highlights of our visit included a hike to a famous local Nixi Potter in a nearby village, exploring the huge Songzhalin (i might have spelled that wrong) Temple, and a hike to the top of a hill in town which gave us a great view of the valley.
One very entertaining sight was watching locals dance each night in the main square. I thought at first this was something just done for the benefit of tourists but apparently a not uncommon sight in many parks throughout China. A shopowner would turn his/her speaker out into the square and blast some local pop music and everyone would jump in and do what looked like our version of line dancing in a bar but this was in a circle in the main plaza. It was quite a fun sight of old, young, and of folks from a variety of different family backgrounds- Tibetan, Bai, and other ethnic minority backgrounds. The only way I knew this was from the traditional dress that many of the women were wearing. Chinese travelers also would join in for the dancing. We were told by Katie and Annelise that dancing in public parks in the evening is quite common. Seems like a nice tradition.
We had only 2 days in Shangri-la and really would have liked more. Seems like there is lots of great hiking to be done in this region.
From Shangri-la we flew back into Kunming for one last overnight with Annelise & Katie. We made the most of it by going to a goodbye party for some of the English teachers and then for an hour of KTV which is essentially Karaoke. Here you rent a private room. We went to a posh KTV where we had this very nice private room with a very high tech DVD Karaoke machine. We had a blast singing along to Billy Idol, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, and our very favorite- Total Eclipse of the Heart. After a late night we got a little sleep and got ready to fly on to Yangshuo. See Carol's posting for that update.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge was AWESOME. We were really lucky with weather the whole way... it was raining in Lijiang when we took the bus to the gorge, so we were not sure if we could/ should hike it, but figured we could assess upon arrival. And are so grateful that we did! It was absolutely spectacular the entire time. Occassionally we heard rolls of thunder through the gorge (very cool and dramatic), but never suffered more than a sprinkling of water for 10 minutes. It is truly a spectucular place- one of the deepest and longest gorges in the world (and will likely be flooded for a dam in the next several years).
We were followed for the first bit by a man, which was really creepy at first and we tried to get away from him (were scared that he would try to take our stuff while we were hiking some high narrow passage), and then we tried to interact with him to figure out what was going on (he was not subtle about following us, so we figured it was not going to be an ambush). We pieced together that he was waiting for us to hike the "28 bends"- a section of steep switch backs, figured we might get tired and hire him and his burro to carry our stuff. We told him "no," but he still followed us- so closely at times that his burro was butting Mike's backside. We decided to think of him as our guardian angel, as he helped us figure out the correct way to go at times. And then when he saw that we were going to make it on our own, left... which was a far more enjoyable way to experience the hike and views.
A true highlight of the trip was the fellow hikers we met along the way. There were about 8 of us staying at the Tea Horse Trade Guest House on the way (a Naxi lodge home built on the trail). We all chose the cheap rooms (means going to the bathroom outside over a gutter), but couldn't beat the view! We laughed so much together- and the three Naxi women who ran the place joined right in... and there was much hilarity b/c one of them spilled soup on our fellow traveller, then spilled soup on me (she kindly washed my pants and then laughed hysterically when she saw me in my long underwear), and then another one broke a dish right next to Mike. They all laughed so hard and then brought us two buckets of fresh popcorn. The night offered a full moon and again, spectacular views.
We are now in Shangri La- near the border of Tibet... a beautiful town filled with prayer flags, bells, and cobbled stone streets... after several nights of gutter going, or just going in a hole, we have upgraded to Western style bathrooms... much easier with GI stuff going on :) Now for a plane back to Kunming before our flight to Yangshuo- more later!
We were followed for the first bit by a man, which was really creepy at first and we tried to get away from him (were scared that he would try to take our stuff while we were hiking some high narrow passage), and then we tried to interact with him to figure out what was going on (he was not subtle about following us, so we figured it was not going to be an ambush). We pieced together that he was waiting for us to hike the "28 bends"- a section of steep switch backs, figured we might get tired and hire him and his burro to carry our stuff. We told him "no," but he still followed us- so closely at times that his burro was butting Mike's backside. We decided to think of him as our guardian angel, as he helped us figure out the correct way to go at times. And then when he saw that we were going to make it on our own, left... which was a far more enjoyable way to experience the hike and views.
A true highlight of the trip was the fellow hikers we met along the way. There were about 8 of us staying at the Tea Horse Trade Guest House on the way (a Naxi lodge home built on the trail). We all chose the cheap rooms (means going to the bathroom outside over a gutter), but couldn't beat the view! We laughed so much together- and the three Naxi women who ran the place joined right in... and there was much hilarity b/c one of them spilled soup on our fellow traveller, then spilled soup on me (she kindly washed my pants and then laughed hysterically when she saw me in my long underwear), and then another one broke a dish right next to Mike. They all laughed so hard and then brought us two buckets of fresh popcorn. The night offered a full moon and again, spectacular views.
We are now in Shangri La- near the border of Tibet... a beautiful town filled with prayer flags, bells, and cobbled stone streets... after several nights of gutter going, or just going in a hole, we have upgraded to Western style bathrooms... much easier with GI stuff going on :) Now for a plane back to Kunming before our flight to Yangshuo- more later!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Taxi?
Mike and I are now in Lijiang- a charming city of winding cobblestone streets and rows and rows of buildings with tiled roofs slanted at the tips. We arrived yesterday and it was our first experience of being on our own in China. Annelise had kindly made us notecards with English phrases on one side and Chinese phrases on the other (eg where is the bus? we are vegetarian, etc). I got to use our handy phrase, "I don't understand" with the taxi driver in the first 5 minutes. Ah, for the beauty of pantomime (he commented that it was very rainy out through gestures). When we arrived at the airport, we took a bus to a station and needed a taxi to get to the part of the city we are staying in... there were tons of taxis waiting when we arrived and every passanger on the bus went into one and then... there was us.
We waited a bit, a few more taxis showed up, I showed them the biz card of the hotel of where we were going, and they all said, "No!" and drove away. It was so weird! We were not sure if we got the system wrong or if there was something wrong with where we were going (we are still not sure- but our hotel is nice). I was starting to wonder if we were going to have to camp at the bus station. It's the very first time I can think of arriving anywhere and we were actively avoided! We hailed a taxi on the street, showed him the card, he said he would take us, and pantomimed that we would have to walk into Old Town, as no cars are allowed (a very nice feature of the city). So, we have arrived! And are hobbling our way through our adventure with minimal Chinese and lots of smiles and some arm waving :) Tomorrow we start our trek of Tiger Leaping Gorge.
We waited a bit, a few more taxis showed up, I showed them the biz card of the hotel of where we were going, and they all said, "No!" and drove away. It was so weird! We were not sure if we got the system wrong or if there was something wrong with where we were going (we are still not sure- but our hotel is nice). I was starting to wonder if we were going to have to camp at the bus station. It's the very first time I can think of arriving anywhere and we were actively avoided! We hailed a taxi on the street, showed him the card, he said he would take us, and pantomimed that we would have to walk into Old Town, as no cars are allowed (a very nice feature of the city). So, we have arrived! And are hobbling our way through our adventure with minimal Chinese and lots of smiles and some arm waving :) Tomorrow we start our trek of Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Fortune Telling & Massage in Kunming
This is my first entry in awhile, primarily because I have had a fever and have been preserving my energy for exploring. I am pleased to have finally kicked the fever, however, and am mostly feeling better.
A highlight in Kunming was having our fortunes told outside of the temple. Annelise invited her friend, Sophia, along to help with translation. She lives in Kunming, but will be attending Lewis and Clark College this fall. She was really fun- very spunky and her English was amazing. Her translation abilities were much appreciated in relaying the message from the fortune teller to us. Annelise and Katie drew sticks (I am sure there is a term, as they were sticks with writing and red tips, but I don't know the term) and I had a palm reading. The future, I am delighted to report, is looking bright for all of us :)
We also had a massage for 30 min. As Katie aptly said, "There is no lavender scent and no crashing waves in the background" There were 4 beds, 4 massage techs (I don't know if this is what they are really called, but it fits) arrived in 4 white coats, they draped each of us with a sheet, and began pulling, kneading, rubbing, slapping, and shaking us. Chinese massage is based on the acupuncture points, so it was very healing and we all felt good afterwards, but it was not at all relaxing and at various points I wondered how anyone tolerated more than 30 min.
Our last night in Kunming was Annelise's birthday, which was very exciting for me because I cannot remember the last time we were actually together on her birthday! We had a nice meal of homemade dumplings at a local restaraunt and Katie made brownies with chocolate lavender ganache :)
A highlight in Kunming was having our fortunes told outside of the temple. Annelise invited her friend, Sophia, along to help with translation. She lives in Kunming, but will be attending Lewis and Clark College this fall. She was really fun- very spunky and her English was amazing. Her translation abilities were much appreciated in relaying the message from the fortune teller to us. Annelise and Katie drew sticks (I am sure there is a term, as they were sticks with writing and red tips, but I don't know the term) and I had a palm reading. The future, I am delighted to report, is looking bright for all of us :)
We also had a massage for 30 min. As Katie aptly said, "There is no lavender scent and no crashing waves in the background" There were 4 beds, 4 massage techs (I don't know if this is what they are really called, but it fits) arrived in 4 white coats, they draped each of us with a sheet, and began pulling, kneading, rubbing, slapping, and shaking us. Chinese massage is based on the acupuncture points, so it was very healing and we all felt good afterwards, but it was not at all relaxing and at various points I wondered how anyone tolerated more than 30 min.
Our last night in Kunming was Annelise's birthday, which was very exciting for me because I cannot remember the last time we were actually together on her birthday! We had a nice meal of homemade dumplings at a local restaraunt and Katie made brownies with chocolate lavender ganache :)
Raining in Lijiang
Tonight I am sitting at a computer desk with a view over the historic Old Town of Lijiang in the Northern region of the Yunnan province. It's raining like crazy here- I guess that makes sense because it's the rainy season here. Apparently there is a spectacular view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain from where I sit but I have not seen it yet. The view of the rooftops of the city is very cool though. These buildings are the structures of homes built by the Naxi people- a minority population in China. Hopefully I will be able to post some photos soon. As the evening turns to night I can see hanging red lanterns begin to light up on buildings throughout the city. The entire old town is pedestrian only cobblestone walkways. It is quite easy to get lost because of the windy pathways but not too hard to find your way back to your inn due to signs that are in both chinese characters, pinyin, and english. This is quite the hot tourist destination mostly for Chinese people but we have heard German, Spanish, and various English accents spoken here by other tourists.
We have been getting along fine as vegetarians here thanks to both the fact that this is a touristy location and also to the help of Annelise & Katie in learning how to say "no meat" in Chinese. Annelise even mades some handy note cards with the chinese writing on them in case we had trouble.
Here in Lijiang there's a dish called Baba which they also call the Lijiang Pancake in English. It's a delicious potato pancake that you can get sweet or salty. Fried cheese is also a popular dish here and we had that today. It was okay but a bit rich for my normally vegan diet. As for beverages, I was pleased to discover that the Yunnan province has very good coffee grown here! I have been drinking a fair amount of that and some tea as well of course of which there are a bazillion options. My favorite food so far that I blogged about previously are dumplings and the many ways you can eat dumplings here. I haven't found ones yet in Lijiang but I am sure I will. It's a bit more difficult to find exactly what I want without the translation help of Annelise & Katie.
We are heading off to Tiger Leaping Gorge tomorrow which is supposed to be absolutely spectacular but we are a bit worried that the weather will not cooperate with us since rain is in the forecast for the entire week....and it is raining as I write this blog. Hope the rain has changed to sun in Seattle!
We have been getting along fine as vegetarians here thanks to both the fact that this is a touristy location and also to the help of Annelise & Katie in learning how to say "no meat" in Chinese. Annelise even mades some handy note cards with the chinese writing on them in case we had trouble.
Here in Lijiang there's a dish called Baba which they also call the Lijiang Pancake in English. It's a delicious potato pancake that you can get sweet or salty. Fried cheese is also a popular dish here and we had that today. It was okay but a bit rich for my normally vegan diet. As for beverages, I was pleased to discover that the Yunnan province has very good coffee grown here! I have been drinking a fair amount of that and some tea as well of course of which there are a bazillion options. My favorite food so far that I blogged about previously are dumplings and the many ways you can eat dumplings here. I haven't found ones yet in Lijiang but I am sure I will. It's a bit more difficult to find exactly what I want without the translation help of Annelise & Katie.
We are heading off to Tiger Leaping Gorge tomorrow which is supposed to be absolutely spectacular but we are a bit worried that the weather will not cooperate with us since rain is in the forecast for the entire week....and it is raining as I write this blog. Hope the rain has changed to sun in Seattle!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Plastic bags
Seattleites have been hotly debating Mayor Nickels proposal to charge a 20 cent fee on all bags at grocery stores in the city of Seattle. Meanwhile, I bet you didn't know that the Chinese government just prohibited the distribution of plastic bags by stores and shops throughout the country and will soon prohibit the production of them.
Meanwhile, Seattle residents will keep debating. Sometimes there are advantages to an authoritarian government I suppose.
More soon.....
Meanwhile, Seattle residents will keep debating. Sometimes there are advantages to an authoritarian government I suppose.
More soon.....
Conversation with Students at Yunnan University
Hello friends,
Earlier this week Carol and I had the opportunity to meet students at Yunnan University in their English class. They had just watched the classic movie- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? For those of you unfamiliar with this film. It was a controversial film about interracial marriage starring Spencer Tracy,Sydney Poitier and Katherine Hepburn. At the time when it was released- 1967- interracial marriage was still illegal in many states.
We got to lead small group discussions in which students discussed their reactions to the film as well as had an opportunity to meet and hear more about us. Once they learned that I worked at a non-profit they had many questions for me. Several students wanted to know what we could do for survivors of the earthquake in the Sichuan Province of China. It was really wonderful to be able to report to them that the youth board of Penny Harvest had just made a grant of $1200 to an earthquake relief organization directing relief to Chinese earthquake victims. The students were pleased to hear that and amazed at the amount of funds that were raised by students throught the Penny Harvest this year (64,333.73).
We continued to talk about interracial marriage and how attitudes toward interracial marriage had radically shifted since the late 60s. I really found it fascinating to hear their opinions on attitudes that had shifted in China over the last couple of decades. Some of those changes included- arranged marriages. Apparently arranged marriages are not very common today. They happen still in rural areas of the country but at least according to these students they get to choose who they marry. Marriage between minority people (e.g. Naxi, Bi, etc) and majority people (Han people) is more acceptable especially in urban areas. Parents are less likely now to desire to have a boy more than a girl....and there were more attitudes that we discussed but that gives a summary for now. Hope you all are having a great June and getting excited for summer solstice!
Earlier this week Carol and I had the opportunity to meet students at Yunnan University in their English class. They had just watched the classic movie- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? For those of you unfamiliar with this film. It was a controversial film about interracial marriage starring Spencer Tracy,Sydney Poitier and Katherine Hepburn. At the time when it was released- 1967- interracial marriage was still illegal in many states.
We got to lead small group discussions in which students discussed their reactions to the film as well as had an opportunity to meet and hear more about us. Once they learned that I worked at a non-profit they had many questions for me. Several students wanted to know what we could do for survivors of the earthquake in the Sichuan Province of China. It was really wonderful to be able to report to them that the youth board of Penny Harvest had just made a grant of $1200 to an earthquake relief organization directing relief to Chinese earthquake victims. The students were pleased to hear that and amazed at the amount of funds that were raised by students throught the Penny Harvest this year (64,333.73).
We continued to talk about interracial marriage and how attitudes toward interracial marriage had radically shifted since the late 60s. I really found it fascinating to hear their opinions on attitudes that had shifted in China over the last couple of decades. Some of those changes included- arranged marriages. Apparently arranged marriages are not very common today. They happen still in rural areas of the country but at least according to these students they get to choose who they marry. Marriage between minority people (e.g. Naxi, Bi, etc) and majority people (Han people) is more acceptable especially in urban areas. Parents are less likely now to desire to have a boy more than a girl....and there were more attitudes that we discussed but that gives a summary for now. Hope you all are having a great June and getting excited for summer solstice!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Hot Pot Dining in China
Hey Friends,
We had an amazing meal last night called Hot Pot dining. You will see why it's called that when you look at the photo. It was delicious. In the photo you will see there are two big pots-one side really spicy and the other not spicy. You cook veggies, tofu, and whatever else you want in the pots and then remove the veggies, tofu, etc with your chopstick or ladle and dip it in this great ferment soybean paste- very yummy and then eat it. We did mildly spicy in our spicy pot and it was still light your mouth on fire hot and tongue numbing. Very delicious food and a very fun dining experience.
Ni hao from Kunming!
What a luxury to be greeted in a foreign land by two smiling faces (Katie and Annelise) who knew exactly what to do and where to go- typically we arrive bleary eyed, have to figure out the taxi or bus situation and haggle in a foreign language about foreign currency.
We are staying with them where they have been living since last August- a gorgeous condo overlooking the city of Kunming and lovely courtyard (complete with pirate ship). Yesterday we made an attempt to see the torch runner for the Olympics, but were scared off by crowds, so watched the relay on TV. The Olympics are a BIG deal here and there's lots of excitement and celebration. We took the bus downtown and wandered around the city and enjoyed some local food (hooray for dumplings!) for lunch and dinner.
I am very impressed by Annelise's Chinese. Mike and I have learned how to say, "Please, thank you, no thank you, I don't understand, hello, and goodbye." I have found people to be kind and friendly and it's cool to watch Annelise buy veggies or ask a question and be able to bargain in Chinese.
Today we went to the flower market- many of the world's flowers are grown here and the prices set at the market influence flower prices around the world. I love markets and this was my first in a flower market, so found it particularly wonderful. I have never seen so many orchids in one place (or lilies or roses for that matter!) The market extended into a produce and vegetable area and Annelise and Katie were able to explain about some of the more unusal vegetables and food for sale. We had lunch at the University cafeteria and then visited Katie's classroom to talk with her students. It was really fun to talk with them- they were primarily curious about my profession as a therapist, as psychology is a realtively new field of study in China. Two fun/ funny highlights were being told that I look like Nicole Kidman and that I look too young to be married. Hee hee.
Tonight we try Hot Pot for dinner :) Zia jian (Goodbye :>)
We are staying with them where they have been living since last August- a gorgeous condo overlooking the city of Kunming and lovely courtyard (complete with pirate ship). Yesterday we made an attempt to see the torch runner for the Olympics, but were scared off by crowds, so watched the relay on TV. The Olympics are a BIG deal here and there's lots of excitement and celebration. We took the bus downtown and wandered around the city and enjoyed some local food (hooray for dumplings!) for lunch and dinner.
I am very impressed by Annelise's Chinese. Mike and I have learned how to say, "Please, thank you, no thank you, I don't understand, hello, and goodbye." I have found people to be kind and friendly and it's cool to watch Annelise buy veggies or ask a question and be able to bargain in Chinese.
Today we went to the flower market- many of the world's flowers are grown here and the prices set at the market influence flower prices around the world. I love markets and this was my first in a flower market, so found it particularly wonderful. I have never seen so many orchids in one place (or lilies or roses for that matter!) The market extended into a produce and vegetable area and Annelise and Katie were able to explain about some of the more unusal vegetables and food for sale. We had lunch at the University cafeteria and then visited Katie's classroom to talk with her students. It was really fun to talk with them- they were primarily curious about my profession as a therapist, as psychology is a realtively new field of study in China. Two fun/ funny highlights were being told that I look like Nicole Kidman and that I look too young to be married. Hee hee.
Tonight we try Hot Pot for dinner :) Zia jian (Goodbye :>)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Off to China!
In a few short hours we will hop in a cab and be on our way to Kunming, China! After 3 flights, 18 hours of flying, and a couple layovers we shall arrive at our destination. More to come....time for a little 3 hour nap before leaving.
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