Touring China

A lot has happened since the last blogpost! I don't want to spend too much time, and I haven't gone through all the thousands of photos taken, so this post will serve as only a surface-level synopsis (and possibly boring, without all the exciting details, jokes, and colorful events that have come to pass during the last 10 days).

Yao Mei berry pitting... for three hours!

The Saturday after school let out, we had a Mexican-food, Lu'au-themed pig-roast as a going away party (leave it to an international expat community to throw that sort of shindig together!). After at least two days of preparation (including a hour-hour yao mei ("wax berry") pitting party, large-scale guacamole-making, and making an economy-sized cobbler from the pitted berries), the socialization was great, even despite the scattered showers and humidity that had set in--characteristic mid-June weather. This was a time to celebrate the end of the school year, say "see you later" to departing friends and colleagues, and enjoy some good imported food! I loved helping with all the preparations... including making that massive cobbler!

Prepping guac is messy!

Yao Mei berry cobbler that I made

Lu'au with some of our closest Cup o' Joe community friends:
June, Scott, me and Dodo comparing muscles, Dana and Erich, Kari

All packed into Lee's car... we were a menagerie:
Kari, Jett, Alice, kitty Ashoka, me, Shelley, and Lee.

On Sunday, Kari and I took off with one of our dear friends, Shelley (a Chinese friend who works at AIAN as the Librarian Assistant), and headed to her hometown, PingHu (see map), which is about 2.5 hours away... when the driver doesn't get lost! A friend Shelley went to college with, Lee, drove us. In PingHu, we met up with another friend of Shelley's, Eric, and were guided around the rural area. Seeing rice being planted in the paddies, exploring little villages, and sharing meals with Shelley's family and friends, we experienced more and more of Chinese culture and daily life (outside of the context of our international community in Beilun). So many unforgettable images. Monday, we traveled to a quaint water village, Xi'Tang (pronounced "she-tong"). Tuesday, we visited Alice, another Chinese colleague from school, and met her family. It was so lovely to share a meal with them and joke around, learning more about where our friends come from!

Dinner with Shelley's family in PingHu

Out in rural PingHu, on a walk around the rice paddies

In Xi'Tang, on one of the many canal-crossing bridges:
Shelley, Lee, me, Kari, Eric

Lunch with Alice's family in Yuyao

Holding Jett on the vet exam table before
he got his microchip implanted

Wednesday, Kari, our Chinese friend Fan, and I took Jett pupperz up to Shanghai, endeavoring to get the necessary paperwork for his journey to the US. After a long and hot day in the city, in and out of the vet clinic (with a nice visit to a Mexican restaurant while we were passing the time), and much help from a friend in Beilun (who we refer to as "Jett's Uncle"... long story!), it was questionable if the paperwork would be ready in time for Kari to fly on Monday. SUCH A LONG BACK STORY HERE! I'll skim over those details for now. Long story short, a couple thousand dollars and a week later, Jett is now living the American Dream, Stateside with Kari in Bellingham, WA now. We'll be reunited next week upon my return to the US with Dad.

Fan, Jett, and Kari (paying) in the animal hospital

Speaking of which, after spending Thursday in attempts of "getting things done," on Friday I headed back up to Shanghai with a friend to spend a leisurely night in the city, before flying up to Beijing from there on Saturday. I met up with Dad without problems, and we checked into our hotel right next to the Forbidden City.

Daddy-Daughter reunited in Beijing
(happy belated Father's Day!)

Sunday and Monday, Dad and I spent long days hitting all the main sights--though by no means a comprehensive tour of the Capital City. We learned much from our private guide, Michael, referred to us by another guide who was referred to me by a family who attends our school... anyway, Michael had a wealth of experience and knowledge to effectively tour us around his hometown city: Tian'anmen Square (where Chairman Mao's Mausoleum is located), the Forbidden City and ancient palaces, the Temple of Heaven, the new modern museum of Beijing/Chinese history, art, and culture, the Great Wall of China (cable car and toboggan ride down included!), the Summer Palace, passing by the Olympic Center, and enjoying two entertaining cultural shows during our evenings--Kung Fu and Chinese Acrobatics. Whew!

In Tian'anmen Square, in front of Mao's Mausoleum,

In the Forbidden City; a view of Beijing

On the Great Wall of China

Climbing, climbing!

Very sore in the quads, hamstrings, calves, butt, and... well, basically our whole lower halves, a result of three hours of climbing up and down the wall, we boarded another plane on Tuesday morning, heading down to Shanghai. There, we scaled more staircases, up and down through subways, navigating our way across the city to see a few of the few touristic sites the city has to offer: the Oriental Pearl Communications Tower, the Bund, the Jade Buddha Temple, and some side streets and parks in between before heading to the bus station to take the 3.5 hour journey "home" to Beilun.

Beijing to Shanghai in one day:

panda sweet bun to start the morning, airport,

Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower, 5D-movie included, a view of Shanghai from the top,

lots of subway riding and metro tunneling, and the Jade Buddha Temple.

Today, Wednesday, we had a "down" day. We did laundry, housework, went grocery shopping, and did some basic biking around Beilun on a getting-to-know the ever-so-rainy-and-humid city. We went to see the new Superman movie in the cinema around the block, enjoyed some time at the fave Maibach Lounge, and then went on to enjoy a dinner at my favorite all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant, with some of my dear, dear friends who still remain in Beilun.

And that's the update for now. Five more complete days in China before Dad and I fly out of Ningbo and head to Vancouver, BC, Canada on an 18-hour itinerary (with a layover back in Beijing on the way out). Trying to cram as much into those days as is possible with all this rain! More updates to come! Stay tuned!