Two Days of Touring

October 4, 2007-10-04

We are here safely in Xi’an. After 6 hours in LAX, and 17 in the air, we arrived in Xi’an. Our flight to Hong Kong was on time and we had just enough time to get to the gate to meet our Dragon Air flight to Xi’an. Our plan was to change currency at the airport as we were advised. Unbeknownst to us, today is a national holiday so the banks are closed. An affable fellow flashed his taxi license and followed us to the tourist info counter and said he could take us to our hotel. The woman at the tourist info counter helped translate. He agreed that we could change currency at the Hyatt where we were going, and the fee would be fixed. We agreed. He then took us down into the basement level and across some tunnels to a parking lot. There a car was waiting with another fellow. They talked, put our luggage in the trunk, and we got in. To our surprise, the friendly fellow at the desk was not the driver. This man could not speak any English. Now we just had to trust as we had no way to change things. Fortunately, he took us right to the Hyatt and waited for his fee. While Rich was changing money, it seemed to take so long that the bellman was preparing to pay for us so the driver did not have to wait. Just then Rich emerged from the hotel with the correct money. The Hyatt was a welcomed refuge from airports and airplanes. After freshening up a bit, we went for a walk down the main street. There was a huge modern shopping mall that dwarfs South Coast Plaza and surpasses it in glamour. The streets are filled with people 5-8 deep. We found a “food loft” on the top floor of one of the malls with a variety of cuisines—Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Maylasian, Western, Pizza, and a dessert bar. We had dinner while people watching over the mall. Rich said he was feeling like a minority here. There are very few white people on the streets.

The traffic is unbelievable! Our taxi ride made a New York taxi ride seems like Disneyland. For the pedestrian it is literally “dodge the buses and taxis;” Traffic lights are merely suggestions. We learned to just stick close to the locals and pray we make it to the other side.

Tomorrow will be our first tour of the city. We have signed up to join a group with an English speaking guide. My problem is that everyone assumes I speak Chinese. In the shops and restaurants, they speak to me expecting I would understand. I’m going to have to learn some basic phrases fast.

October 5, 2007

We went on a city tour joined by a family from Germany--only five on the tour with a very good English speaking guide and a bus that could seat 20. The highlights were the East gate of the city wall, the Terra Cotta Warrior factory, lunch at the silk factory center, silk factory demo, Terra Cotta Warrior site, and the Wild Goose Pagoda. All day the city was enshrouded in fog, haze, or smog (depending on who you talk to). We are told that the blue sky only is seen after rain so we are hope there will be some rain while we are here.

China is getting ready for the Olympics and mega tourism. At the Terra Cotta Warrior museum, the government has built a mile long entrance served by golf carts to the museum entrance and an equally long exit plaza with shops and food places from the museum to the parking lot. The plaza areas within the museum can hold thousands of people at any one time. The idea of a “crowd” in China is mind boggling. There are 10,000 visitors a day at this site.

As it turns out Oct 1-8 is national holiday week--that is to say, the government has instituted a week vacation for all its workers and encourages them to travel. As a result, this is the busiest week in Xi’an for local tourists and we are right in it. The accommodations for tourists at the government lunch restaurants and factory tours are filled with guides and sales personnel. When we visited the Terra Cotta Soldier Museum 23 years ago, we could not have imagined the way it has been developed.

Our guide told us only 4% of the people are involved in any kind of religion. The four religions recognized are Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. My young couples today like “western weddings” so they go to a church for their wedding. However, since the cultural revolution, there is no need for religion since everything is new.

Speaking of weddings, we saw in the store display window of bridal shops, people dressed in western wedding attire standing as mannequins. The fact that they are talking to each other and moving slightly gives it away that they are real people.

After our tour, we checked into our Global Volunteer headquarter hotel, the Sino Peal Hotel which turns out to be just on the other side of the city wall of the Hyatt. It cost less then $1 by taxi to get here. We were so tired from touring plus being up at 4AM adjusting from CA time, it was long day for us. We are meeting with the co-coordinator Saturday morning to find out what new adventures we are really up for. So far, all has been good.

Getting Ready

We have been planning to join Global Volunteers in Xi'an, China for about a year. After our accident in Cambodia, there was some doubt whether we would be able to do this trip. By the grace of God we are totally healed and are off to Xi'an right on schedule.

Final Entry

October 29, 2007

Having left for China from LAX, where we went 5 hours in advance of our flight to be sure we made it through TSA security on time, we were concerned on Saturday morning in Xian when we were taken to the Xian International Airport by Global Volunteers at 9AM for an hour drive to the airport for a 12:10 PM flight. It turned out that there was only 1 “international flight” going out to Hong Kong. The international area did not open until 10:40 AM, through which you had boarding passes, passport check, and security checks. We went through all check points without a problem and waited for our flight. While there we realized that only foreigners like us and the very rich travel internationally. One of our team mates had asked a class how many had ever been on an airplane and there were was no one. Most don’t know what an airport is and much less have ever been on an airplane to see it. The average school teacher makes about $250 USD a month. Plane fares are the same for them as for us so few can afford a trip.

A few more thoughts about China. When tourists go there, they are interested in the history and the ways of the dynasties 600BC. The Chinese want to know about the future—new inventions, music, dress, business structures, modern buildings, etc. The old city of Xian is a juxtaposition of 15^th century and 21^st century. There is a modern glass and steel shopping center on the main street and a block away on a side street, there are brick and mud structures where the people live with no bathrooms. On the old streets are carts pulled by hand or bicycles full of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and cooked foods. The government has replaced many old living quarters with more modern ones but there is so much more to do. They face both a cultural and financial challenge.

We saw a man “tight rope walking” over 8 lanes of traffic on electrical wires to make repairs. On another site there was a man balancing only on his bare feel, hanging protective plastic on scaffolding 5 stories up with no safely measures. Visitors can walk through construction sites without protective helmets, climbing over steel rebar, piles of marble, and construction holes. The schools have 60+ children shoulder to shoulder in a classroom where the back door is padlocked from the outside. The concept of safety precautions is certainly different from home. It boggles the mind.

Funny how a 12-hour airplane ride can seem like a time warp. Three weeks in Xian seem like a dream. We are home now putting away our suitcases and trip items plus the treasures the kids removed from the house in the evacuation effort. It seems we arrived just in time as the garbage disposer leaked, and the lawn sprinklers shorted out. Also I’ve lost my wallet with my driver’s license and credit cards, so that has to be taken care of. It’s still better than losing our whole house. It gives one pause to realize that most of the Chinese people we spent time with have no concept of the things I am taking care of now at home—but they will. China is the sleeping giant getting ready to wake up.

Last Day

October 26, 2007-10-26

Today was our last full day here. We had our usual breakfast gathering listening to Rich’s joke of the day and the daily journal by Pierre. It was a little sad to think we may never see these three week friends again. John has already left so there were only 3 Rainbow teachers today. As usual our Driver and Kim were waiting for us in the lobby at 8AM. Again there was some discussion about us going to the school at all as the fog was very thick on the highway. Kim said the school would be very disappointed since we did not teach yesterday. The principal is ready to present us with thank you gifts and they want to treat us to lunch. Hu Di suggested the driver take another way to Xianyang avoiding the open highway. He took his chances and went on the open highway hoping it would be clear. After a short way, the fog was so thick we could barely see in front of us. Fortunately, there is not much traffic on this new highway as the driver slowed to a crawl. He then took the next exit and found some other way not as foggy. It was white knuckle time for a bit as trucks were diverted from the highway while pedestrians and bicycles (with no lights or reflective material) kept crisscrossing the road. We finally reached the school and on time. This is a very good driver that has been ferrying us back and forth for three weeks.

When we arrived, Ashley was waiting to escort us to the primary school where the teachers anxiously waited. They were worried that we would not come as they were looking forward to us being there. The children seem delirious with joy upon seeing us. I think it’s because they would have break from their routine. The English teachers had their cameras and took oodles of photos with and of us. In my classes, I like to teach songs with hand motions. The teacher had her camera and snapped away to get all the hand motions so she can teach the songs later. We taught only 2 classes of 3^rd, 5^th, and 6^th graders.

At 11:00 we were escorted to the middle school lounge where the principal presented us beautiful gifts of framed Chinese puppets made with transparent animal skins. They are beautiful copies of the ancient dynasty puppets. After exchanging appreciations, we were taken to lunch at a local restaurant with Murphy, Kim, Ashley, and the driver. This time we had different food again and fun conversation. We have become very close to our Rainbow teachers. They were sad to see us leave. Even if we have not conversed with the driver, we feel he is a friend as he so carefully drove us everyday. After lunch we headed back to our hotel where we bid our final farewell to Kim and the driver.

On our daily rides we talked about almost every and anything we wanted to know about China—one-child policy, birth control, school requirements, street sweepers, taxi drivers, where to shop, even about Chinese toilets. Some conversations were very serious, and some very funny where we laughed and giggled.

So, now is time to pack as we will be leaving tomorrow morning. We bought things and were given gifts so getting everything in the suitcases with the correct weight was the challenge. There is a scale in the bathroom so we could weigh the bags. I had to shift the items so each bag would be under the weight limit. We are just making it. We also have some money left so decided to walk to the local bakery and buy some cookies and moon cakes to take home and share at dinner tonight as they are very good. The shop girl recognized us from past trips and smiled broadly. We now know the routine of getting a tray and putting our selections on it to go to the counter to pay. She could not explain what was in each one so we got a variety. She was quite pleased that we would buy so much.

The smog today is the worse it has been since we have been here. There is such a hazy shroud over the city we can barely see beyond the city wall which is just across the street from the hotel. We are told to expect rain tomorrow and next week the temperature is expected to drop to 50 degrees. We are ending our trip just in time. We are headed to 90 degrees in Orange County.

When we came here, we really didn’t know what to expect. We were told to teach conversational English but since neither of us have really done that, it was all theory. In retrospect, had we known what it would be like, we would have come anyway. We would do this again in another location to interact with the people. Global Volunteers has done wonderful job in taking care of us volunteers. Hu Di is a trove of information, she knows this city inside-out, and caringly looks after all of us. I hope all their leaders are like her. See her bio at this website. http://www.globalvolunteers.org/organization/staff/profiles/hudi.asps

Tonight’s dinner will be Team 154’s “last supper” together. We have had about 50 meals together like a family. We know each others likes & dislikes; who drinks beer, Coke or water; who likes spicy food; and who can use chopsticks. Everyone has been cooperative and willing to go with the flow. It’s a real privilege to be part of such a group. This is my last blog entry from China and I hope you have enjoyed tagging along with us through cyberspace. We are on our way home looking forward to seeing the kids, Oatie, and sleeping in our own bed. If you have kept up with us, check this site again in a few days to see if we had anymore surprise adventures on the way home.

Success!!!

October 24, 2007

SUCCESS!! Today was a great relief for Rich as his classes went extremely well as he followed the directions of Annie, one of our experienced primary teachers on the team, line by line. He engaged the children in speaking, laughing, and even singing. He has a new respect for “Hokey Pokey.” Fortunately, the same teacher who was with him on Monday was there today and saw the great difference in his teaching so he feels exonerated. This still is not his favorite thing to do but he at least feels a bit of success.

As we got up this morning we checked the weather to see if there was heavy fog to prevent us from going out to the school. It turned out to be one of the most beautiful days we have had since we arrived--sunny and warm with unusually clean air. The rain last night washed the skies. We actually saw the moon out tonight as other nights have been too cloudy and smoggy.

I had a fun time with the students in my classes as I use my music teacher bag of tricks. One class was so funny and fun that I got into a laughing fit and had a hard time stopping. I could barely sing the song. Yes I have been doing a lot of “Hokey Pokey” and “Little Peter Rabbit.” We were told that tomorrow we will visit and tour the Rainbow Company’s plant instead of teaching. The brand name is IRICO. We are welcoming the change.

We spent this afternoon walking on the streets of the city and especially on the city wall. We are getting our exercise in. Dinner was at a nearby restaurant. There are now 12 of us and our leader Hu Di. So 13 of us squeeze around a table for 10 in close fellowship. I noticed our team mates have become quite good in using chopsticks. They do not resort to forks anymore.

We have been keeping a watch on the fire situation through the internet. We are fortunate the fire has moved away from our home but it sounds very bad in other places. Praying for cooler and more humid weather—maybe some miraculous rain.

No School Today

October 23, 2007

Before going to bed last night, I picked up a text message from James saying the fire was close but we were clear. What a relief! This morning we tried to connect with the internet for get the latest news and our email. Unfortunately, we could not connect so had to head off to school.

As we reached the lobby, there was serious deliberation as to whether we should go to the school. There was heavy fog on the way and Hu Di did not think it safe for us to be on the road. Last week, we sat on the highway clover leaf for an hour waiting for the fog to lift because it was too dangerous to proceed. The driver had done the 40 min drive from Xianyang to pick us up and our escort, Kim, was there too. However, the decision was made not to go. We were relieved and welcomed a day off.

Kim then took Rich and me to the hairdresser to get hair cuts. We went on the crowded city bus for 1 RMB (13 cents). People were packed in as it lurched forward. But Kim said, it was not as bad as rush hour. I would have taken a photo except that I could not reach for my camera and would probably only get a photo of someone’s belt buckle. We arrived a few minutes before 10 at a small salon Hu Di had recommended. We both had our hair washed and Rich got a hair cut by a young girl. I waited for the master stylist. He was a master indeed. This tall over 6-foot young man didn’t speak English nor did he try to ask me anything through Kim. He just combed through my hair and started cutting. He was VERY skillful. I have never seen anyone handle scissors so artfully. It was like a dance in his hands. In about 20 minutes, I had the nicest haircut I have ever had. It was a style I imagined but never could find someone who could do it exactly as I envisioned. Now I know it’s possible but I’d have to come all the way to China.

After the haircuts ($7 for the two of us) we headed out for shopping. We went to an area that had many clothing stalls. I found clothes my size and bought some at good prices with Kim bargaining for me. We then headed for the fabric district which we were told was just amazing. There were rows of sewing machines with people at work making curtains and draperies. This was a wholesale area so there were bolts of fabric piled high and drapery accessories by the crates all over the place. I bet this is where Bed Bath & Beyond gets them.

At 1 PM we headed back to meet our team for lunch while Kim headed home. We had full lunch at “Beautiful Soup” Restaurant just walking distance from the hotel. These restaurants have upper rooms which are private dining rooms for small groups. With only 6 of us, we had a quiet, non-smoking room to enjoy our lunch in. We are eating endlessly. At this rate it’s hard to believe the stories of starving Chinese.

After a rest in the afternoon, it was time to eat again. Rich had to make too many visits to the WC so he decided skip dinner as were going out to the “Crossing Bridge Noodle” Restaurant. This noodle dinner was more of an activity than a dinner. Each of us was served a variety of thinly sliced raw meats, some salted vegetables, a quail egg, and bowl of rice noodles. Then we each had a large bowl of piping hot chicken soup. We put all the condiments into the soup immediately so that they cooked in a few seconds, then added the noodles and seasoned it with vinegar and/or hot pepper sauce. Many were not accustomed to slurping noodles or picking them up with the chopsticks so there were all manner of creative ways to get the noodles eaten. It was a fun dinner.

Many of the team are feeling under the weather. They were able to get antibiotics without Rx here and quite cheap. I bought some vitamin E today for 65 cents. It’s now raining again and may be raining tomorrow too. We’ve done most of our running around and saw all things we really wanted to see so resting a bit won’t hurt.

James to the rescue, again.

October 22, 2007

What’s it like to be in thousands of miles away and know your house may be in the fire zone? We had been watching the news on the internet about the fires in CA and I had a dream that our house was in danger. I emailed James to tell him to keep an eye out for us. James is taking care of us AGAIN.

We had just gotten back from a rough first day with 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th graders and were catching our breath in the room when we got a call from James. Cowan Heights area was on voluntary evacuation so he, Amy, and Steph were removing the valuables from our home and he wanted to know what else we wanted out. Does that give one pause! We had been to the farm village just on Saturday and were remarking how fortunate we are to live in such a lovely home in Southern California. This was a test of our words. We now stand the chance that our home on the hillside could be wiped out by the time we got home. Did we really mean “they are only things?” Needless to say, our thoughts have been preoccupied and we have been checking on the internet for the latest news. Unfortunately, tonight our internet connection is down.

This morning we encountered classrooms of 30-40 second graders. They have limited vocabulary and could not ask questions. Even if we answered, they would not understand. I sang my way through doing songs with hand motions. I was able to do that for 40 min. Rich meanwhile, struggled with the alphabet and little responses. He felt like a total failure at the end of the day. After lunch, he got more materials from the GV office and met with Annie who is a former primary school principal who gave him strategies and tips on how to keep things going. Now his is ready for tomorrow’s challenge. Fortunately we will have a different group of students. The English teachers stay in the classroom with us so there is supervision and translation available.

The students are crammed into a classroom with three students to a desk which is meant to accommodate only two. They are sitting elbow to elbow on small stools with their backs up against the desk behind them. Our fire department would go nuts if they saw this. Once all the bodies are in place, there is no walkway for students in the back of the room farthest from the door. Somehow they have been taught to scream out answers. Does louder make it correct? I asked our escort teacher why they scream. She says, the teachers always tell them to speak louder so they scream.

Dinner tonight was at a restaurant that specializes in northern Chinese food. They grow potatoes there as their staple. We had potato flour noodles, a mashed potato type dish, boiled lamb, scrambled eggs from free range chickens, Chinese peas, and fried pumpkin. For entertainment, a woman sang for us in our private dining room a couple of songs from the northern area. It sounded very Middle Eastern—high pitched and a little whiney. After dinner we walked back to our hotel through the well lighted park along the city wall. Many people were out in the park just relaxing, doing tai chi, using the outdoor exercise stations, singing, and putting on street dramas. There was lots of activity.