Ni Hao from China!My blogging aspirations from China have been temporarily delayed due to the earthquake in Taiwan (see CNN). I hope we'll be back online soon. In the meantime, I'm limited to email. (Thank you, Niels, for posting this on my behalf).
I remember how as a child how my mom, in an effort to get me to finish my meal, would tell me about children in China. It's mind-blowing to believe that I am actually here, nearly 7,000 miles from home! Melva and I are so fortunate to be able to experience this amazing country through the eyes of those who live here. In many ways, the lack of connectivity to the outside world is enhancing our experience. We have no TV to distract us, no international calling ability, our cell phones don't work here, we can't read the newspaper and can't access any websites outside mainland China. Outside of our first 24 hours in Beijing visiting T Square and the Forbidden City (in which one could spend days and not see everything), we have simply been absorbing every day life.
The character for happiness is ubiquitous here, and in that spirit (along with the sketchy duration of my internet connection), I offer...
as defined by Jen and Melva on their Chinese adventure
- upgrades to business class!!!
- safe arrivals
- seeing our friends at the airport with Santa hats
- safe travel in taxis
- Beijing beds--so comfortable!
- western toilets!!!
- fresh mandarin oranges
- sweet Chinese bread
- Starbucks in T square
- Imperial Garden in T square
- bookstore in T square
- translated English signs in T square
- beauty of Chinese language
- Hall of Mental Cultivation in T square
- Hall of Literacy Brilliance in T square
- cypresses with entwined branches
- long underwear
- Chinese food in China: current favorites--corn and pine nuts, garlic broccoli, chicken with Ancient Chinese Secret sauce, fried cucumber, all the tea in China
- escalators and elevators--no ADA here (#19)
- not living on the 10th floor--our friends are on the 6th, see #19
- kennedy kiddos
- new chinese friends
- legend of the candy cane (#23)
- telling new friends about #23
- ribs so tender the meat falls off
- Chinese candy
- Banana popcorn
- Peach popcorn
- fresh fruit from street vendors
- cooking with "Wendy"
- hot water
- house slippers
- illustrated books
- translators
- any internet access!
- sharing this experience with Melva
- thoughts of returning for my next visit
- guest apartments
- local tour guides
- Good Friend Stores
- successful shopping
- Chinese currency exchange rates
- Chinese generosity
- Chinese respect for authors
- conversations leading from my book
- conversations leading to Dad's book
- English club
- joy of giving
- a boyfriend who posts news about Chinese trip from the Netherlands on an American blog read by family and friends around the world
- Seeing Dad at work
No comments:
Post a Comment