Good Bye, Guangzhou

I can't believe we have been here for 8 days and it's time to go home tomorrow morning. It has been such fun and we've made some really good friends. Today we spent the morning at the hub--John and Steve finished up everything they could. The van from the White Swan picked us up, along with 2 Memphis FedEx guys and we got back to the hotel around 2. We finished up some shopping and then headed upstairs to get a jump on packing. We went to our favorite BBQ place for dinner and were serenaded by 3 Chinese musicians singing Spanish songs--they were very good and were having a lot of fun. One song they did was by Nilsson, "I can't live, if living is without you." Their rendition was "I can't leave, if leaving is without you!" Then we went back to the shop where we have gotten to know the workers and took their picture--everyone loves to have their picture taken--even the Chinese FedEx guys! Well, we have a 4:15 a.m. wake up call, so I think I'll close here. Phil--I hope you are having a great birthday--we got something here for you, so it will be a little late!

A Day to Relax!

Today was going to be a long day at the hub--car picking us up at 7:30. John said there really wasn't going to be much that I could help with and said I should just stay here and relax--there wasn't a lot of thought that had to go into my decision! I stayed in bed for a little bit and said goodbye to John, then got dressed and went down for breakfast. I took my China book with me and had fun sipping coffee and looking up things I wanted to know about this country. I found out that the "seasonal vegetable" that we have been eating is called water spinach--it's delicious. Usually it is stir fried in garlic until it is barely tender--really good! After that I just wandered around and took some pictures of the hotel. I ran into the lady who is adopting the twin girls and I talked with her for a few minutes. The girls are doing really well and are the cutest babies! At 11:30 I had a manicure--complete with hand and arm massage--I could have stayed there for hours! After that I came upstairs and started to read the newspaper--they print the China Post in English and put it in the room every morning. I didn't get too far before I was out like a light--slept for about an hour and then made myself some Jasmine tea before going downstairs to people watch in the lobby. John thought they would be back mid afternoon, but it was about 6:15 before they got back. He showered and then we met Steve downstairs for Italian. I ordered the soup, not sure what it was since the description was in Chinese, but figured I couldn't go wrong with Italian soup. It was very good, but different--a broth with elbow macaroni, bacon and half of a hard boiled egg! Then it was up to the room for a little bit and off to the business center so John could get some things printed off. After that we went to the antique shop here in the hotel, where earlier today I bought a cricket cage. The girls in there are just adorable--John had to tease them and tell them that in the US we don't keep crickets as pets, but feed them to the fish--that really horrified them and they both started to giggle. They said no, that we should feed them watermelon and vegetables. I asked if I could get a picture with them and they were thrilled--one of the girls started giggling again after John took the first picture and confessed, "I did mouse ears to you!" Now it's bedtime--early tomorrow for our last day in China. It sure has gone by quickly!

Buddhism and Christianity in China

This morning we took it a little easy and had a late, leisurely breakfast. We had a couple next to us that had just adopted a 22 month old boy from inner Mongolia--very unusual to see a boy being adopted. They told us that he had been abandoned when he was born because he had club feet--I could have cried, but then realized what a wonderful life this little boy will have now. On the other side of us was a mom and grandma that had just picked up a 14 month old little girl. I went over and started talking to her and she was all smiles--they said she had been like that since they picked her up at the orphanage. After breakfast we went out on our own--brave souls that we are! We have a piece of paper from the hotel and all we have to do is point to the Chinese of where we want to go. Our first stop was the Six Banyan Temple. As soon as we stepped out of the taxi, we were approached by several street people telling us where to get our tickets and then holding out tins for money. They were mostly either crippled or had some kind of a physical deformity, so we would put several Yuan into their tins and move on quickly. The temple was fascinating--a 17 story pagoda established in AD 537 to house a portion of Buddha's ashes. The temple was rebuilt in 1097. We saw lots of people burning incense and offering fruits, peanuts and bottled water to the Buddhas. We finished up there and hailed another taxi to take us to the Sacred Heart Catholic church. It was built by the French between 1860 and 1880 on land granted to Frances as compensation for its losses during the Second Opium war. It has two large spires that are 190 feet tall and house 4 bronze bells cast in France. There were many beggars outside of the church. It was absolutely beautiful inside! As we were leaving the church, we were approached by one beggar that just wouldn't give up. He would get right in front of us and shove his cup up--he finally gave up, but it just is so different. It took us about 20 minutes to get a taxi, so we had lots of time to people watch. At that point we were all pretty tired, it has been a busy week, so we decided to just go back to the hotel and relax. We took our books down to the outdoor pool and had a great time just enjoying the relative quiet after being in the middle of Guangzhou earlier in the day. We watched one of the women squatting in the flower beds and picking things up with a tweezers--no wonder everything looks so good here at the hotel! After resting up a bit John and I headed back out to the shopping district here on Shamian Island. We just about finished up all of the things we wanted to get. We bought quite a bit from "Sarah" across the street--we have gone in there several times and she loves to joke with us--she is the one that thinks we are rich because Steve convinced her that he was our bodyguard! After negotiating a price for what we wanted to buy (required in China, you never pay what they ask), John told her he was broke. She said, "no, no, you rich man" and he repeated, no I'm broke now, you took all my money. To that she said, "you broken, but still smelly." We hope she meant that he was broke, but still smiling!!! That's about it for now. It's off to bed, as we have a car picking us up at 7:30 to go back to the hub. Hopefully, the parts are now out of customs--we'll see!

Shopping!

Today we got out and saw parts of Guangzhou that we never would have been able to find or deal with if it wasn't for Jason, who is one of the local workers on the FedEx project. He grew up in Guangzhou and was anxious to show us the city and take us to places that most tourists don't know about. He explained that in China there is a shopping district for the type of thing you are buying. Our first stop was at the jade market. It is shop after shop of nothing but jade. Jason asked that I get an idea of what I wanted before we went to see his friend, who is a wholesaler. When I had looked around enough to know what I was looking for, he gave her a call and she popped out of an alley and motioned us to some concrete steps (dark, steep and no handrails) that led to a little upstairs room where a lady was waiting for us. We all sat down and Jason acted as our translator. They pulled out all kinds of jade and it was so fun to see how pretty it was. After about an hour and several purchases, we thanked the ladies and headed out. As we were going down the alley to get to the main area we saw an old man digging through the garbage and picking out food. Jason told us there was a Buddhist temple just down the street, so we went there. Many people were burning incense and offering prayers --it was fascinating. We went into the temple, where there are 500 Buddhas. After that Jason took us down a very crowded street--he said he was taking us for lunch. We had expressed concern about the safety of the food and he said this was a safe place for us to eat and a very famous restaurant in Guangzhou. On the way there we walked down what looked like a street version of a food court--complete with octopus and scorpion on a stick--people did seem to be enjoying it, but I was relieved to find that was not where Jason was taking us! We had a delicious lunch--goose with crispy skin and sauce, fried noodles, shrimp with pine nuts and seasonal vegetable with garlic. We also had Chinese tea--the cups are so tiny and the tea is very strong. After that we went to the silk market--I could have just stayed there for hours looking at all of the beautiful fabrics! Then is was off to the leather district--huge, the Chinese wholesale market--like an Asian version of the gift markets in the states, and on to several other places that I can't name or our girls will know what they are getting for Christmas! After we were finished, we invited Jason to come into the hotel and have drinks with us--we had a great time talking with him. He is 24 and is very interesting. He will be traveling to the US for the first time in December, so he had lots of questions. Then it was time for him to go, we headed off for dinner and are hoping to get to bed early tonight. Today we saw the crush of people that we haven't seen here on Shamian Island.

It's Friday

Today found us back at the hub again, trying to get everything done on the scales. Did a lot of documentation and photography. The Chinese workers there recognize us now, and it's been a lot of fun to interact with them. It's been funny watching the trainees--they take naps everywhere and often! We were waiting for our cab about 4 this afternoon and there was a little girl with her mom doing landscaping work outside the hub. It seems very common for young children to accompany their parents to work. She was so cute, so I got out my camera and went over to see if it was o.k. to take a picture of her. Her mom didn't speak any English, but it wasn't very hard to let her know what I wanted to do. She nodded yes and then the little girl got very shy and started hiding her face. She ran behind a post and we wound up playing hide and seek with a group of Chinese security guards, landscapers, etc. all looking on and laughing at the whole process. I never did get a good picture, but we had such fun! When I went back over to where John and Steve were waiting for the taxi, one of the Chinese workers asked me in broken English, "you do like Chinese baby girls?" I replied yes and then realized maybe he had something in mind! Our taxi arrived just then, so the conversation went no further. Girls are not favored here, so many of them are given up for adoption--they are so cute I just might be tempted--no, not really! On the way back to the hotel, we saw a man on a bike, which isn't at all unusual, but he had a large basket on the back full of chickens. This has been such a study in contrasts. We had dinner at the hotel tonight--a wonderful outdoor restaurant where you choose your own meat and vegetables and they grill them for you right there. I took a prawn and put it on my plate along with some steak, hoping that when it came back to me after being grilled that I wouldn't be looking back into his beady little eyes. Well, I was, but he still tasted very good! Then we went for a walk and found the outdoor pool complete with a waterfall--think we will be spending some time there this weekend. After that we walked back to the shops across from the hotel. The lady remembered me from 2 days ago and was so happy that I was back to buy something. Steve stayed outside while John and I went in and had the young girls convinced that he was our bodyguard! At that point they decided we must be rich, because only rich people have bodyguards. I found some really pretty silk and am hoping to have something made. They take your measurements and can have it done in 1 or 2 days. I still didn't buy anything, as we are going out tomorrow and I want to see what that is like. One of the Americans who has been here for an extended stay has a young man that works for him--Jason--and he is taking us out tomorrow. He grew up in Guangzhou, so he knows all the best places to go. He has an aunt, who has a friend, who has a sister, who has a cousin, etc. etc., who owns a silk and jade market and he is taking us there. It should be a big adventure. Tom told us that we would be taken upstairs to a private room and then the bargaining begins. John thanked him for setting us up with Jason and Tom's reply was, "you won't be thanking me tomorrow when you realize how much money you just spent!" Apparently his wife collects antique jade and spent a whole bunch there, which certainly won't be happening with us! But, it should be lots of fun and then we are also going to try to get to a temple and/or museum tomorrow or Sunday. There is so much to do. Kim and Joe, I posted a picture for you, I'm sure you can figure out which one it is!

Training

Today we spent all day at the hub--it was time to train the Chinese on how to operate the scales. We did wind up needing an interpreter, as most of the workers speak little, if any, English. As we walked into the office building, they were erecting a scaffolding out of bamboo--and climbing on up to get to paint. We broke for lunch, which for us consisted of the snack foods I brought along and bottled water. One of the local employees came back from lunch with a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken for us. We thanked him profusely but said we had already eaten--a little afraid to try that--we have been warned about being careful with the food! So we gave the chicken to the security guards and they were REALLY excited to get it! I spent some time taking photos of the class, then settled in to do some reading. The classroom portion of the class ended about 3 and then they had to go up into the hub for some hands on learning. Theft is a real problem here, so nobody leaves anything laying around if they want to see it again. There really was no need for me to go with them, so I stayed back and watched the computers, etc. while they were finishing up. One of the local employees got tickled, looked at me and exclaimed, "oh, guard woman!" At 5 we headed back to the hotel and had probably our most hair raising taxi ride yet. We pass a small village as we leave the hub and school had just let out--bikes everywhere and nobody wears a helmet. The kids are all in their uniforms and are so cute. Also, babies are very often in a basket tied to the back of the bike, or in the middle of two adults on motor bikes--sure is different. Some of these pictures are kind of blurry, as we go by them in the taxi at lightning speed, but they will give you the idea! Most of the shops are nothing more than a garage door with goods inside. We decided to stay at the hotel for dinner tonight and ate at the Cantonese restaurant. I'm liking noodles more and more!!! I ordered noodles with beef and peppers--it was very good, but it really didn't taste like beef--I think I'm better off not knowing. John had crayfish and noodles--biggest darn crayfish I've ever seen--and it really didn't look like any in our area! Steve went for the filet of emu--I was brave and tried a piece--it was really very good, but it was so spicy my lips started to burn. Some of our other choices tonight were: fried sea slug, shrimp with black fungus, cold jellyfish and shark fin soup. I'm really just not that brave when it comes to eating. I also had the fried seasonal vegetable--I have no idea what it was, but it was delicious. Steve and I had the black tea--they make quite a show during the preparation and serving and it was very good. John stuck with good old bottled water. Tomorrow is scale calibration and then the weekend is playtime.

More Fun

This morning started with breakfast on the river again. This time we saw a whole group of swimmers--not so sure I would be getting in that water. Then we were picked up in a taxi by a young Chinese man who works at the hub. We were talking on the way there and I asked him if he was married, at which point he looked at his watch--we were all very confused and he realized how funny that must look to us and he started to giggle. He explained that he would be getting married very soon. They would be taking an hour off from work to get married and couldn't take more than that because business is too busy! The picture of the sign is from the back seat of the taxi. It reads, "The average taxi ride is 17.4 minutes. With nothing to do but look at me. Lucky You!" The other pictures are of apartments on the way to the hub--we really don't know how lucky we are--and our hotel room and bathroom. Every evening when we get back, my cosmetics are neatly lined up on the counter, sitting on a clean towel. We met with a bunch of different people and then proceeded to get to work on the scales. It was pretty hot in the hub, but we were able to get a lot done. About 4 we went back to the offices and were offered a ride to the airport, where we could catch a taxi back to the hotel. The man who drove us there didn't speak much English, and we were pretty sure the taxi drivers wouldn't--so they sent along a darling Chinese girl to help us navigate and give instructions to the taxi driver. On the way to the airport we see a lot of housing--high rise apartments mostly and plots of rice or corn. Today we rounded a curve and came VERY close to a water buffalo grazing by the side of the road--Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore! Just as we were about to get in the cab John handed me a Fairbanks pen to give to her (they are very big on giving gifts). She was so excited and turned to me and exclaimed, "this is gift for me?!" On the way home in the taxi John told me that one of the Americans, who has been over here for an extended length of time, is making arrangements for one of his employees to take us to Beijing Road market this weekend. His aunt owns a silk and jade shop and he can get us in the back where she makes "special deals". There is a whole different way of shopping here, but I'm catching on! Anyway, I'm really excited to see what she has! He will also take us around the rest of the market and then bring us back to the hotel--it should be a lot of fun and I can't wait. We spent some time just relaxing when we got back, and met Steve downstairs at 6:30 to go to dinner. We ventured out of the hotel tonight and went to a Thai Restaurant. I did, eventually, find something I could eat....here were some of the choices--roast pig neck meat, spicy and sour intestines, double boiled pig tripes, vermicelli with minced pork intestines, squid salad, boneless chicken feet salad (I really want to know how they do that!), steamed fish head, fried ostrich kidney with baby corn, steamed goose hand (maybe they meant head?), or steamed pigeon (there was a picture of this--they really give you the entire bird, head and all!). After thinking long and hard, I finally settled on the baked rice and shrimp! Now it's early to bed, as there is a training class at the hub all day tomorrow.